Expanding the Chicken Family

[aart]

My understanding was that the birds should be of a comparable size before full integration.

That was the common prior recommendation, but that has evolved...and I explained why it works.

But what kind of interior ideas have been posted or known already?

Well you saw mine, I think, but others have posted other options too, you'd have to look for them. Any 'doorway' that opens enough for the chicks to get thru but not the adult birds will work. Lattice can work. Have seen folks use a crate with the door propped open just so far. I used a crate with the door removed and piece of fencing across with one corner bent up. Have seen the barrier wall between chicks and adults raised off floor just enough for chicks to get under.

 

[XanderWiFi]

I'm definitely going to have to get creative. Building an interior partition for these little boogers seems much easier than building them an entire separate temporary coop. I still have the issue of no electric to keep them warm with temperatures dropping into the 30s or lower. Now that could change in four weeks as we get into April.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

your plan seems great to me! maybe a tad small... but your chickens are living better than how most people treat their chickens here. i was bawling the day before yesterday because my neighbors let their chickens free range (and breed) so they had way too many bantams.. they went on a killing spree shooting every bantam they saw exept for 15 they said they killed 40

 

[XanderWiFi]

I just realized it helps that half or more of our chickens and new chickens to be added are bantam sized. Hopefully that will help with real estate as well.

 

[XanderWiFi]

That's sad to hear. Truthfully, ours are 50/50 pet/food and heavier to the pet side. And frankly, are quite spoiled in their setup and will very much so be when all plans are completed. Irregardless, I still want to do the best for them and ensure that they all are happy. Many people like to get their eggs from me with the knowledge that they are 1. more nutritious and 2. reared in a manner considerate to their lives and circumstances. So CAN I squeeze them all in to 1-3 s/f as recommended? Sure. Should I? No and I do not plan to.

 

[lazy gardener]

Aart gives great advice. Early integration is far superior to later integration. Do you ever let your birds out for supervised free range? If so, that's the perfect opportunity for those early meetings, along with the panic room set up as outlined by @azygous . You might also want to look at the huddle box and the wool hen as options to get your littles into the coop sooner rather than later. My chicks with MHP set up wean themselves off heat by 4 - 5 weeks of age. And my temps at that time are most likely much lower than yours!

I like to have my littles begin integration process around 3 - 5 weeks of age, and finish it long before they are 10 weeks old.

 

[Folly's place]

Also, look into having electricity in your coop, somehow. A buried covered line (per code) is a wonderful thing, for so many reasons. Then it's easy to brood chicks out there, and have unfrozen water all winter.
Mary

 

[XanderWiFi]

WELCOME TO MY CRIB! Jp. Back door to the coop itself. Bad news. Went in and measured it out to 6x7 wide with 6 feet tall. As you can see, the full sized back door allows me to walk in and take care of cleaning/etc. I utilize the dry bed method. Please take note of the 2x4 support beams. If I cannot build OUT, maybe I can build UP and create more surface space vertically.

 

[Folly's place]

Vertical space is nice, but it's floor space and roost space that matters. You have room for eight to ten birds there, so either build bigger, reduce flock size, or add another coop.
Mary

 

[XanderWiFi]

This current roosting bar sits my 9 ladies in comfort. Usually 6-7 crowd on top and 2-3 hang out on the second one. Never have seen much drama and they are all in different places every night. However, I am removing this setup in favor of multiple straight across 2x4 beams.

Also, the support 2x4s you see across the wall make for an easy 2nd floor addition. If I can configure it to have a 6x2-3 second floor in addition to the roost bars that adds 12-18 s/f comfortably.

If you refer to my first post I even think I could run a roost bar on the 3rd 2x4 crossbeam up and still have at least a foot of head room to fly up to.