Getting more chickens, should I mix my flock?

[peckham]

Hi everyone!

I’m fairly new to owning chickens. I currently have 5 golden Wyandottes, one of them gave me her first ever egg just a few days ago!

I have fallen victim to chicken math and have ordered 10 silver Wyandottes, due to be picked up around April 2026.

I currently use an Eglu cube, which is too small to house 15 total chickens but perfect for my 5 girls.

I plan on setting up a larger coop for my 10 girls coming later this year but I’m not sure how to handle their run.

My 5 girls currently have about 60 sq ft of Run space to roam in, unfortunately can’t free range because of my dogs. I plan on adding about 90 sq ft of run to their current set up to accommodate the incoming girls.

But now I’m overthinking the logistics. Can I keep my girls sleeping in separate coops with a shared run or will they naturally want to sleep together? Should I just set up a coop that can house all 15 together? Keep their runs separate and close or separate and far?

If anyone has any insight or ideas about this, I’d love to hear it!!

 

[debid]

I'd build the new digs to house all of them putting the runs so they have an adjoining wall and put a door in it that can be opened/closed. That gives you some flexibility as you are introducing them to each other. Once merged into one flock, they will likely sleep together in the larger coop which leaves the smaller one available for situations where you need to house one or some separately for a period of time. I use my small coop to house chicks until they are ready to merge and it has been used to temporarily house an injured hen and a broody I wanted to break. Oh, and it's there if I need it to separate out an especially mean one or a surprise cockerel that I will be rehoming or whatever else might come up.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Excellent suggestions from Debid. Personally I'd build the new coop and run big enough for all of the chickens you might eventually want if that is more than these 15. Coop and run both.

Mine is set up with a large coop at one end with a large run. That run connects with a human gate to a smaller run which has a smaller coop in it. That kind of set-up gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility when it comes to managing your flock. They can be together or you can isolate some if you want. It's great for integration.

I value flexibility in my set-up. It can greatly reduce stress if you have an issue. Good luck!

 

[jwcarlson]

Keeping two separate flocks year-round is a royal pain. Particularly in the winter. You'll need them separate at least for a bit while the young ones grow, but I would plan on integrating them.

I'm a big proponent of getting your chickens out and a about if you can. Have you thought about using some temporary fencing (or electric netting) to keep your dog away from the chickens? This also makes it easy to rotate them around a bit. That's what we do, and our dogs are not fans at all of getting shocked, so they really steer clear.

I just did this with ours this fall. I built a 40x20 hoop house for winter quarters. I had 16 or so "retirement hens" (various ages from six months up to 8 years, but mostly 3-5 year old hens) and 20-some younger hens with a few roosters. I was worried the older hens would get picked on or something, but (outside of some minor squabbles which happen anyway) it went pretty well. It's been good for the older birds as a couple of the middle aged hens has started being mean to the less dominant hens. The roosters don't seem to allow that at all. So that's been nice. Some of the younger hens will roost with the older ones and vice-versa. The roosters seem to rotate through who sleeps with the older ones as they do still kind of use a different roost. You can tell there's separate flocks still, but I think it gets more and more integrated as more time passes.

 

[BDutch]

But now I’m overthinking the logistics. Can I keep my girls sleeping in separate coops with a shared run or will they naturally want to sleep together? Should I just set up a coop that can house all 15 together? Keep their runs separate and close or separate and far?

You dont need to put them together. In time they choose the coop and the company they like best.

If anyone has any insight or ideas about this, I’d love to hear it!!

I started with 4 small bantams in a small prefab. When i had broodies i let them hatch some eggs. And added an extension to the prefab to give them more space.

Initially there was one run either a net on top and this prefab/extended coop with a small roofed run.
Adding new chicks became difficult when they grew up if they wanted to roost with the older ladies (with their no ladylike behaviour) .
Over time added run space and 2 years ago I decided to add another coop to the other side of the run.

It worked great! They divide themselves.
Now i have 1 hen in the small prefab. 4 in the extension and 3 in the new coop (childrens playhouse).

 

[peckham]

I'd build the new digs to house all of them putting the runs so they have an adjoining wall and put a door in it that can be opened/closed. That gives you some flexibility as you are introducing them to each other. Once merged into one flock, they will likely sleep together in the larger coop which leaves the smaller one available for situations where you need to house one or some separately for a period of time. I use my small coop to house chicks until they are ready to merge and it has been used to temporarily house an injured hen and a broody I wanted to break. Oh, and it's there if I need it to separate out an especially mean one or a surprise cockerel that I will be rehoming or whatever else might come up.

Thank you so much! This is an excellent idea and not one I considered.

 

[peckham]

Excellent suggestions from Debid. Personally I'd build the new coop and run big enough for all of the chickens you might eventually want if that is more than these 15. Coop and run both.

So fair! I did not realise how real Chicken Math was until I placed the order for 10 more Wyandottes.

 

[peckham]

I'm a big proponent of getting your chickens out and a about if you can. Have you thought about using some temporary fencing (or electric netting) to keep your dog away from the chickens? This also makes it easy to rotate them around a bit. That's what we do, and our dogs are not fans at all of getting shocked, so they really steer clear.

I'd have to try to set this up in the Spring once the snow melts. I'd have to work on training them too, but I think it can be done. Thank you!

 

[peckham]

It worked great! They divide themselves.
Now i have 1 hen in the small prefab. 4 in the extension and 3 in the new coop (childrens playhouse).

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where the ladies try to sardine-can it and all fit into one coop?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where the ladies try to sardine-can it and all fit into one coop?

You can end up with behavioral problems with this, like pecking, bullying, feather pecking, isolating (not allowing to roost, eat or drink), up to and including cannibalizing. It's really important to provide plenty of room for everybody.