Chickens cramming into one coop

[PippinChicken]

In the fall we got 6 chicks and built a spacious coop for them (much larger than 6 chickens need). This spring we got another 9 chicks and bought a small pre-built coop that is too small for 9 full grown chickens, but was great for them while they were transitioning to life outside and integrating to the flock. Those chicks are now 3 months old and still piling on the floor on top of each other in that little coop every night while the six adults are in the other larger coop.

Is this a problem? Will some of the juveniles start using the larger coop with the adults if they feel too crowded? Do I need to encourage this process along in some way or just let them decide for themselves?

 

[Percheron chick]

Remove the small coop. You will need to bribe them or place them in the coop at dusk. It's time for them to transition to sleeping on the roost. A dog pile of pullets can result in the ones on the bottom being suffocated .

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Photos of your larger coop/setup would be helpful. (size? square foot?)

Have the younger ones been integrated pretty well with the others or have they just been where they can see each other?

You may need to block off access to the small coop, then place them in the big coop at night for a while. Put them on the roosts in the big coop. 3months old, they should begin roosting, but sometimes they still want to huddle - of course this is all dependent on the size of the big and roosting bars (having enough space) as well as how "integrated" they are with the older ones.

 

[snow5164]

I’d remove smaller coop and save it for quarantine or a rooster pad , they might just be intimidated by the bigger ones . Put them one at a time on the roost at dusk .... never a dull moment

 

[Ridgerunner]

It sounds like you are in an enviable position with those ages. They are integrated, peacefully coexisting. Life is good!

I don't know how big that little coop is but if all they use it for is predator or weather protection when they are sleeping they are fine. They are not being hurt in any way by sleeping on the coop floor. I don't see a huge rush to force them to move. What kind of roost space does that little one have? Mine normally transition to the roosts about 10 to 12 weeks so yours are not off schedule as far as roosting that much, differences in the configuration may affect when they move to roosts too. Normally I have more than twice as many as you do sleeping in a group on the floor and I have yet to have one suffocate. This is in my grow-out coop with no adults present.

How big, in feet or meters, is that big coop? How well will it fit 15 grown chickens? Is it big enough for you to make some modifications inside if you need to? What do your current roosts look like in the big coop? How much linear space and how are they laid out? How high are they? Are they higher than the nests and high enough the adults cannot peck the feet of those on the roosts? If hey are high enough that makes them a safe haven of sorts.

My brooder-raised immature chickens never sleep on the roosts with the adults until they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. That's normally about when they start to lay. It is pretty normal for mature hens to peck at juveniles if the juveniles get close at all on the roosts. If your roosts are big enough and spread out enough where the adults all sleep on one end and the juveniles can crowd into a far corner it might work, but it's usually my brooder raised juveniles that try that, not the brooder-raised. Even then I've seen a hen leave her normal roosting spot and go to the far end of the roosts to beat up the juveniles.

Until they mature enough, mine look for a safer place to sleep. That might be a place in a group on the floor. It might be on some stuff I have jut off the coop floor. It could be the nests. (I think this is where a lot of the problems with chickens sleeping in nests come from). I integrate younger chickens all the time. The problems with them sleeping in nests became so regular that I installed a juvenile roost higher than the nests but lower than the main roosts and horizontally separated to give them a safe place to go that is not my nests. That's worked out really well, but I still have some groups that sleep on the coop floor until they mature enough to transition to the main roosts. If I find a chick sleeping in the nests (maybe once every three years) I put it on the juvenile roost after dark. One time usually takes care of that.

I'm going through all this so you are prepared when yours go inside. Don't expect them to share the main roosts with the adults. It might happen but it is extremely unlikely in my experience. If yours start sleeping in the nests you may have a solution with a juvenile roost. It is also quite possible you will not have any sleeping in the nests.

If yours have been ranging together during the day without issues and your coop is big enough, you probably won't have big issues when they move to the big coop. The first morning or two after that I'm down there pretty early to open the pop door in case there are issues, but there never have been in my big coop. Usually I find the juveniles on the roosts while the adults are on the floor once they have been awake a bit. That's the young avoiding the older. Perfectly normal.

Some or all of yours might move into the adult coop on their own. It occasionally happens. But usually I move them in. After they have gone to roost I move them from the grow-out coop to the main coop and lock them in there, just putting them on the main coop floor. I lock up the smaller coop. The next night they may all sleep in the main coop on their own. Sometimes I have to move them inside for a few nights until they get the message. Leaving the old coop locked and unavailable helps with the transition.

Good luck!

 

[PippinChicken]

Wow, thanks for all the quick advice!

The coops are inside of a large run and we let them out by 6am. They are both raised and the chickens typically hang out under them rather than inside them when the weather is bad. So they really are just used for shelter while they sleep, but even so, I can't imagine them all cramming into one when they are full grown! We will also be getting rid of all but one or two of the adults when the juveniles are full grown, so I guess this is a temporary issue.

The larger coop is 4x4 with two roosting bars at different heights. The adults all sleep on the top bar with the exception of one who can't fly (survived a falcon attack as a chick) and prefers to sleep on the ground in the corner. In the winter when they are huddled together, they take up maybe half the length of the one roosting bar. Even now that it's hot out and they're more spread out, another adult could easily fit on that top roosting bar with them. The lower one is entirely unused.

The smaller coop is maybe 2x3. It has two roosting bars that are more or less at the same height and pretty close to the ground. I have seen a juvie on one of those roosting bars only a couple times. They all smush to the same half of the floor together and sleep in a pile. They fly on other perches and on top of the coops no problem, but they just won't sleep on them.

As far as flock dynamics go, they've been living fully together for a month now. A couple of the adults were bullies earlier on but things seem to have gotten calmer now that the juvies are bigger. The juvies go and explore the adult coop during the day and even take midday rests on the favored top roosting bar.

I can't lock everyone out of the small coop since the big coop isn't actually big enough for all of them...so I have to either let them figure it out on their own, or start splitting them up and putting some in the other coop...but I'm nervous about moving a few juvies to the adult coop and shutting them in overnight where they're outnumbered by the big girls. I wonder how difficult it would be to put the majority of the adults in the small coop at night, and all the juveniles in the large coop along with just a couple adults...

 

[aart]

The larger coop is 4x4 with two roosting bars

Not really large enough for even 6 full grown birds, IMO, let alone 11. Unless you live in a mild climate and the run is predator and weather proof.
How large is the run, in feet by feet?

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If those dimensions are in meters you don't have space problems. If they are in feet (which I really think they are) it is a different story, even if you remove four of those older chickens and leave yourself with a total of 11.

If you use a 4 ft x 4 ft for nothing but a place to sleep (nests are external, no food, water, or anything else to take up room) and you make sure they are not locked in there when they are awake (that may be earlier than 6:00 AM in summer depending on how far you are from the equator, even with daylight savings time) you probably could get away with it. You will need great ventilation. With that many chickens sleeping in there the poop will build up pretty fast so you'll have to manage that. How you get 9 juveniles and 2 adults to share that is another issue, it may be a challenge. Do you ever travel so that you are to there at the crack of dawn to let them out? Will they have enough room in there to get on and off the roosts?

If you are OK with the predator situation you could leave the pop door open so they are never really locked in there. Unless your run is truly predator proof that leaves them vulnerable. I once had an owl go into a coop and drag a chicken out when I was out late at a play and did not get them locked up in time.

I'd never consider keeping 11 adults in a coop that size, let alone try to mix adults and juveniles. That would be too stressful on me plus I'd have to work harder than I want to. You are setting yourself up for behavioral problems. Chicken keeping should be enjoyable.