Hens won't let others in the coop & it's getting cold!

[oldhenlikesdogs]

@aart ? I might just put them all together and see how they work it out.

 

[aart]

Hi. Ok. We have a mixed age flock of 16. There are 2, 4 month old roos, but they don't bother the mamas, the rest are all hens that range from 1 1/2 yrs old to the 9 month old mamas.
Many different purebreds.
The two coops are 8 tall 6 long 4 wide , the run that is in between them that connects both coops is 8 tall 6 wide and 20 long.
The broody hens are 9 months old and their chicks are 3 1/2 weeks old.
Please let us know of any other questions you need answered to help.
Thank you very much

Even two 6x4 coops is tight for 16 birds. Not sure how you'll split things up. Would you please post some pics of coops, inside and out, I'm better with visuals.

I would not take chicks away, you'll just have to integrate them again later.

Not sure how to overcome the broodies not allowing any other birds into the coop, you may have to force the issue by putting other birds in after dark.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would strongly advise not to separate the birds. I my opinion it cause much more problems than it solves.

Go down at dark and put the birds in the coop. They are easy to catch after dark. I am assuming that you want half in one coop and half in the other. If the broods and chicks are still on the floor, putting the layers up on the roost will not be any problem.

Even if they are on the roost, either shove them over, and put the layers on the roost. They will settle down quickly in the dark. Leave the pop up door open so that they can get away in the morning.

Two or three nights and they will do it on their own.

ps. if you need more roost space, a trick that I use, is to run the roost on the diagonal, the hypothesis angle, will add a bit more space.

How many chicks? Cause you are tight on space, and chicks will only get bigger and need more space. Chicken math has to go both ways, subtraction as well as addition.

Currently I have 15 in an 8 x 4, which is double what one should have. 5 are chicks that hatched in August. I need to reduce before the long dark nights of winter. With a taller walk in coop, I think you can cheat a little bit, but it depends on your particular birds. Some tolerate a tighter confinement better than others. Always solve for the peace of the flock...

If this continues to be a problem, you need to cull.

 

[aart]

ps. if you need more roost space, a trick that I use, is to run the roost on the diagonal, the hypothesis angle, will add a bit more space.

It might......but the ends of the roosts may not be usable as they would be too close to the wall.

 

[Mrs. K]

Hmmm - I am wondering all of my roosts end next to a wall. Don't yours? And while they have lots of room, for some reason my current rooster always takes the spot next to the east wall.

By running mine at an angle I get more space, and I place another roost in the corner. Then I add another going the other direction. Think of ><. They are all basically at one level, which my birds seem to like best. When I had multiple levels, mine all crowded on the top one anyway.

Of course this depends on your birds. But mine are doing fine.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Hmmm - I am wondering all of my roosts end next to a wall. Don't yours? And while they have lots of room, for some reason my current rooster always takes the spot next to the east wall.

Yes, when a roost ends at a wall at a right angle, 90°, they can get right up against the wall.....but when a roost ends at a wall at say a 45° angle they can't get right next to the wall without a bent neck or tail. It depends on the situation, but good to keep in mind that an angled roost will not allow the full length to be used. Hope that makes sense, I could do a cadd drawing with dimensions, but not now.

 

[Mrs. K]

Oh I see what you mean, mine don't hit at a 45 degree angle, maybe there is a 3-4 inches of wasted space but my biggest bird picks that space to roost, in a way, that is better because then they are away from the wall a little bit.

 

[aart]

in a way, that is better because then they are away from the wall a little bit.

True...just gotta account for the usable length.

 

[Mrs. K]

Well, I depend on visual verses measurement inches. Birds that can move around on the roosts, that settle quickly at night, have enough room.

 

[aart]

Well, I depend on visual verses measurement inches. Birds that can move around on the roosts, that settle quickly at night, have enough room.

My comments are more for other people, I know you got it down.