Combining Coops?

[Mikski]

Hello! This is my second year having chicks so my first time integrating chicks. I have 10 adult hens, 2 12ish week old chicks raised by a broody in the main coop, and 8 chicks that are 7-12 weeks old that I raised in a brooder in my garage. I acquired a second (smaller) coop and built a run around it. This shares a fence with my main run. I kept the 8 grow outs in that coop/run separated for a couple weeks so everyone could see/hear/smell each other but were separate. Then I let everyone out to freerange in my yard for a few days. That went well, so I opened the door between the two runs and my two flocks are essentially “integrated”. Except my 8 grow outs still sleep in the small coop and the other 12 sleep in the big coop. This doesn’t seem like an issue now but I assume that at some point I would want to encourage the new chicks to sleep in the main coop, right? If so, how would I go about that? Or should I just leave them be and let them decide where to sleep? I live in Utah and winters are cold and snowy. I attached a few pics of my setup. First is the inside of my main coop, next the inside of my smaller coop, my chicken door to integrate the two living spaces, and then some pics of my whole space. Thanks for the advice!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Close off access to the small coop. The younger birds might choose to follow the older ones once they can't get into the small coop (optimal), or they might huddle outside of it at dusk, so you'd then need to manually place them inside the bigger coop.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Rosemarythyme listed the same method I would use. It might take some time until they get used to it but they should pick it up well. Sometimes we also board up the entrance of the coop after they are in and open it in the morning but that isn't always necessary.

 

[Mikski]

Rosemarythyme listed the same method I would use. It might take some time until they get used to it but they should pick it up well. Sometimes we also board up the entrance of the coop after they are in and open it in the morning but that isn't always necessary.

Thanks. and I do want to combine the coops right? Like I shouldn’t just let them stay in the smaller coop?

 

[WingItRanch]

I like your setup! I did something similar this year. I closed access to the smaller coop after they were fully integrated because I wanted them to understand the big coop was the safe place to lay eggs. My smaller coop doesn't have nest boxes and I want to keep that space available in case I have a sick chicken or need to separate a bully. Or more chicks in the future...

 

[Mikski]

I like your setup! I did something similar this year. I closed access to the smaller coop after they we're fully integrated because I wanted them to understand the big coop was the safe place to lay eggs. My smaller coop doesn't have nest boxes and I want to keep that space available in case I have a sick chicken or need to separate a bully. Or more chicks in the future...

My small coop does have nesting boxes on the back but I would rather not use them. And yes, good point about separating someone.