Coop integration

[Bayoucrazy]

I have 3 (3yr old) ladies and 5 (13 week old) young ladies. I have a fairly large run and have sectioned off an area for the younger ones since they were about 8 weeks old. It includes its own coop with roosts. It doesn’t have nesting boxes though. All of the ladies have been able to see each other for weeks and just the past week I have been keeping the door open and allowing them all to mingle. The problem is at night my young ones still roost in the small coop and do not go in the coop with the older ladies. Is there a way to make them all roost together or will I have to keep two separate roosts? Also will I need to make nesting boxes in the smaller coop or will the ladies know to go inside the older ladies coop for laying when it’s time?

 

[Bayoucrazy]

Wow this was all very informative! Thank you very much. For now I’m just gonna let things be. During the day they are all in the run together and the littles get pecked every now and then but for the most part they are doing well. I do see them returning to their area when one of the older ones is being mean (especially if I give treats) I think have 5 littles may help them integrate cause they will have more numbers lol. I plan to add a nesting box in the smaller coop just in case they don’t go where the older ladies lay. Dumpling ( my biggest bully) won’t even go in the nesting box if her sisters are in there. She will stand on porch and scream until they come out. Then she goes in and lays her egg and comes out to squawk again lol she is a mess! And there are 3 nesting boxes in there all with privacy walls but she will not go in unless it’s empty.

 

[Bayoucrazy]

I agree. Both coops are secure from predators and so far all the ladies are roosting
I actually had to add a window in the door for one of my ladies to go back on roost. I agree they are weird. She wa upset when i rearranged the coop and her roost was no longer by a window. She boycotted by sleeping on the porch until I added a window. Lol

 

[Saveria]

So I had some thoughts.

Chickens will build habits around sleeping, so they will continue to do what they have done until something intervenes. I think it is personal choice whether you decide to let them sleep in the intro coop, or you can spend energy moving them into the main coop at night, hoping that they get it. Often folks will just close birds into a coop for a week that they want their chickens to recognize as their new home, but this isn't ideal here because of the other birds, so moving them over each night is the only option I can see, other hoping they eventually decide to do it themselves.

That coop also looks small for 8 birds, so they may rather have their own coop due to that.

When it comes time to lay eggs they will be looking for a spot. If they can access the other nesting boxes there is a chance they will lay there because the other girls are. I think it depends on some factors, mostly around how the interactions between the two groups go.

You may just want to put a nesting box in a corner of the intro coop, just in case one wants to lay really early in the AM. It could even just be a milk crate with some hay, just something so they don't just do it on the floor.

 

[Mrs. K]

I too think your main coop is too small for 8 birds. I also think the young birds will follow the old birds where to lay - BUT... sometimes laying is weird.

Mrs K

 

[Saveria]

What calculations are you using? The numbers out there vary widely. I am basing it on how much space they need to not bully each other because of it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The problem is at night my young ones still roost in the small coop and do not go in the coop with the older ladies. Is there a way to make them all roost together or will I have to keep two separate roosts?

I'd be extremely happy with that. Until my pullets reach a certain maturity level they generally will not be allowed to sleep on the main roosts with the adults. I don't care where they sleep as long as they are safe from predators and are not sleeping in the nests. My goal for integration is that no one gets hurt. Nothing more complicated than that. All that one happy big flock stuff will happen when they mature enough, typically for mine about when they start to lay.

Also will I need to make nesting boxes in the smaller coop or will the ladies know to go inside the older ladies coop for laying when it’s time?

As Mrs. K said, mine tend to lay where the adults are laying but you don't get guarantees. About anything can happen.

 

[Lor]

Last spring we had to add an addition to the hen house because we brought home 7 chicks. There's a long roost bar in the addition side.
The older hens roost where they always have, on the older side. The younger ones roost in the addition.

 

[Sueby]

I have 2 coops, the big girl coop & a smaller integration coop. I find that usually the littles sleep in their little coop but lay in the big coop where the big girls do.

Of course now 2 big girls decided they want to lay in the littles coop. Chickens are weird. But I don't really care as long as they are laying in nest boxes & sleeping on roosts!

 

[Saveria]

The ladder has 4 rungs and each is 30” wide. It goes up nearly 7 feet. The coop floor is 4’x5’ in addition to the nesting boxes. There are 5 windows at various heights all with hardware cloth.

You are totally right that they will physically fit, but I am talking more about what space they need to be happy and healthy. If they have access to the run whenever they are awake and walking around you can add that space to your total area, but the lowest estimate I have seen is 4 sq ft per bird.

I actually like this article better though, because it takes a more nuanced approach than a finite number.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/