Changing Coops

[6RandomBrownLayers]

Hi guys,
I'm getting 6 new chicks next week and I am wondering if I should split them up when they are ready to go out to the coops and put 3 in one coop and 3 in the other or put the three currently in the smaller coop in with the 5 in the bigger coop (the three in the smaller coop are the "alpha" hens I believe") and have the 6 new ones in the smaller coop by themselves. The chicks will need a chick grower food I would imagine and not the layer food that the current chickens eat and I think the chicks would be bullied less if they were in their own coop. I think moving the current chickens into the bigger coop would be best but I'm not sure how to do it and I'm not sure how it will affect them. The current hens seem to get along okay when they are outside (I free range them all day) but I'm wondering if being all cooped up

would make them more hostile towards each other? Any help would be great, thanks!

 

[Den in Penn]

I wouldn't split them up if I did not have to. Of course the size of the coops must play a role in deciding where to house them. So how many chickens do you already have and what are the sizes of the coops? Oh and being cooped up can make the cranky if the space is too small. If the size is right they there should be no problems.