Flock ?

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Good morning my deer Peeps,

I got to thinking this morning (dangerous, I know). I have 20 chicks coming and I am thinking of brooding them 10 each in two separate brooders. Now, since they are going to be my flock, living in same coop will that be an issue re. their bonding with each other? Not sure if my question makes sense.

I have eight chicks in a brooder now and my plan is to have all 28 live in same coop. Or, is it simply a matter of brushing up on all the stuff I am reading about "integrating". Wondering if since they are coming together (the 20) should I brood them together? Not sure the brooder is large enough for 20 birds though. It is one of those pet playpen thingies, fyi. 52.36 x 25.59 x 14.96 inches

 

[azygous]

Do you already have a flock of adult chickens? Is so, how many?

Do you already have a coop and run? If so, what are the dimensions of coop and run?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Good morning my deer Peeps,

I got to thinking this morning (dangerous, I know). I have 20 chicks coming and I am thinking of brooding them 10 each in two separate brooders. Now, since they are going to be my flock, living in same coop will that be an issue re. their bonding with each other? Not sure if my question makes sense.

I have eight chicks in a brooder now and my plan is to have all 28 live in same coop. Or, is it simply a matter of brushing up on all the stuff I am reading about "integrating". Wondering if since they are coming together (the 20) should I brood them together? Not sure the brooder is large enough for 20 birds though. It is one of those pet playpen thingies, fyi. 52.36 x 25.59 x 14.96 inches

The question makes perfect sense. How big the brooder needs to be depends a lot on what age will you remove the chicks from the brooder. They grow really fast. Twenty chicks will outgrow that 2' x 4 brooder pretty quickly. I've raised a few more than 20 chicks in a 3' x 5' brooder a couple of times until they were 5 weeks old. They were getting really crowded, I would not have wanted to keep them in there for another week. Keeping 10 chicks in a 2x4 brooder for five weeks is probably pushing it.

If I could I'd keep the 20 chicks together. You can integrate them later if you split them but to me that is an unnecessary step. It just takes more work and has some risks, though probably small risks. Is your coop ready? Can you brood all 20 in there? For 28 chickens your coop should be big enough to be able to section off a brooder big enough for the 20 and still house the 8 in there. That will make integrating to 20 to 8 easier.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Do you already have a flock of adult chickens? Is so, how many?

Do you already have a coop and run? If so, what are the dimensions of coop and run?

No. Brooding my first set now. Coop coming first week of August. Hubby is building it. Atomic Zombie's Movable Pultry tractor plans. Interior almost 200 square feet inside.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Do you already have a flock of adult chickens? Is so, how many?

Do you already have a coop and run? If so, what are the dimensions of coop and run?

Hubby just said it is 20' x 10' (the coop he is going to build).

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Is your coop ready? Can you brood all 20 in there? For 28 chickens your coop should be big enough to be able to section off a brooder big enough for the 20 and still house the 8 in there. That will make integrating to 20 to 8 easier.

No, he will be building it first week of August. I was planning on brooding indoors where I can keep a better eye on them. My plan was to order another pet playpen for the 20 on the way. Having 10 in the new one and 10 in the one my current 8 are brooding in. Of course the 8 will be out in the new coop while the 20 grow up to size to go out there and join them.

 

[azygous]

Thank you. Does that square footage include the outside exercise area (run)?

The simple answer to the integration question is that it's ideal if the chicks can be all brooded together. They will form a very cohesive bond when brooded together from the start.

However, you may easily combine the two broods anytime withing the first four weeks and very little integration issues should arise, those issues becoming more likely the closer the chicks get to four weeks old. After four weeks, then integration gets a little more touchy, but not impossible.

 

[saysfaa]

Before integrating became a thing, the way to combine flocks was to move all of them at the same time to a space strange to all of them.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Thank you. Does that square footage include the outside exercise area (run)?

Yes, I believe it does.

 

[azygous]

The space rule is ten square feet of daytime run space per chicken. This should dictate how many chicks you will buy. If the enclosed coop area is such that chickens won't spend daytime in, then the outside run space should contain ten square feet per chicken. Anything less will risk aggression and other over crowding issues.