Chicken in the dog house...

I am in rhode island so it's winter but it has been staying between 30 and 40 lately. Really rainy and damp the past few days, but sun should be drying us up for the next couple days. (Random thought-this all started right around the beginning of a nasty rain and wind storm - could that cause her to stay in the coop?)
We went out and got a small coop for her. But we are planning to convert half of our shed to be the coop and build a outdoor fenced area for them. So we are planning on letting the chick's go in the new area with our current coop inside. Then open the door to let them socialize. Depending on how it goes will be if we separate them at night and during our work day. But eventually we hope to have them all in our large area and take out the current small coop.
 
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Congratulations on your first steps into chicken raising! There is a lot of good information to help beginners here on the website but it is most important to make your introduction of chicks to pullet happen with much planning and care to avoid anyone getting hurt. Ideally you want to keep them chicks separated but able to see your bigger girl for as much as a week to make sure no one gets injured in the pecking order process. Its impossible to know what kind of personality the pullet will have and whether or not she will be a good example for the little ones but she will at least enjoy having smaller birds to boss around if nothing else and it is so sweet to see hens be friends with each other. Best wishes!
 
Oh... should I have any health concerns of mixing them. Considering I don't know the history of snowy? I know my chick's had shoots.
 
I am in rhode island so it's winter but it has been staying between 30 and 40 lately. Really rainy and damp the past few days, but sun should be drying us up for the next couple days. (Random thought-this all started right around the beginning of a nasty rain and wind storm - could that cause her to stay in the coop?)
We went out and got a small coop for her. But we are planning to convert half of our shed to be the coop and build a outdoor fenced area for them. So we are planning on letting the chick's go in the new area with our current coop inside. Then open the door to let them socialize. Depending on how it goes will be if we separate them at night and during our work day. But eventually we hope to have them all in our large area and take out the current small coop.
It might have, she may be seeking shelter from the wind blown rain.
My birds stay in the coop a lot when it's nasty out.
She may be bored too.
I still can't get over wondering how that bird ended up in your dog house.

Sounds like a great plan!
Do you have power out in the shed?
Transitioning everyone into the shed might be better done sooner than later.
Chicks might still need some heat depending on how warm you've kept them up to now.
 
I like that you are planning on keeping her and have some company for her. Make sure to let the chicks and the hen visit each other through the wire, or whatever you have your small coop enclosed with for at least a week or two. That way, they can see, but not touch. It will help the integration go a bit smoother. I've seen my hens really get aggressive through the wire with new 5 or 6 week old chicks, but be completely fine with them a week later when they are all turned out to free range together.

I live on 10 acres just outside of Pensacola, FL, and I've had some chickens show up and then disappear with my free range flock. They've always been hens. I told a story a while back about one of my RIR's that hitched a ride to my parent's house in the back of their truck. She was in their front yard the next day, and my mom gave her to a neighbor that had a coop, but no chickens because she didn't know it was mine. She asked if I was missing any of my birds, and I told her yes, the RIR hen. So, we figure that's what happened to her, but at least she ended up in a good home!

Good luck with your new pets!
 
400
400


Here's a foot...

We do not have power but we have an outlet off the back of the house that is going over for the water heating pad. We can get power out with an extention cord and the shed has a window that we could pull the cord through for inside heat. How soon could I get the chick's out? If the weather stays around 35 or 40 and they get all their feathers? I can put the light outside that I have on them now.
 
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I think the feathering is more important than the temp outside.
As long as they are out of the wind and off the ground they can take pretty low temps.
It's the drastic change in temps going from house to outside that can be a problem in transitioning.
I open windows in brooder room, and reduce heat output as much as possible(without them getting distressed) to acclimate them to cooler temps.
Have also used a 'huddle box', put it in the brooder after turning off the heat(you might have to 'persuade' them to use it) then move it out to the coop with them.
Cardboard box with a bottom a little bigger than what they need to cuddle next to each other without piling and tall enough for them to stand in.
Cut an opening on one side a couple inches from bottom and big enough for 2-3 of them to go thru at once.
Fill the bottom with some pine shavings an inch or so deep.
This will give them a cozy place to sleep/rest, block any drafts and help hold their body heat in.

Lots of options and techniques....some harder when you're gone all day.
 
I like that you are planning on keeping her and have some company for her. Make sure to let the chicks and the hen visit each other through the wire, or whatever you have your small coop enclosed with for at least a week or two. That way, they can see, but not touch. It will help the integration go a bit smoother. I've seen my hens really get aggressive through the wire with new 5 or 6 week old chicks, but be completely fine with them a week later when they are all turned out to free range together.

I live on 10 acres just outside of Pensacola, FL, and I've had some chickens show up and then disappear with my free range flock. They've always been hens. I told a story a while back about one of my RIR's that hitched a ride to my parent's house in the back of their truck. She was in their front yard the next day, and my mom gave her to a neighbor that had a coop, but no chickens because she didn't know it was mine. She asked if I was missing any of my birds, and I told her yes, the RIR hen. So, we figure that's what happened to her, but at least she ended up in a good home!

Good luck with your new pets!
lau.gif
Oh my gosh that's hysterical!!!
 

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