MY NAME IS GABRIELLA, in central FLORIDA. I've referred to BYC often while starting out on my road to all things chickens, but finally decided today I should introduced myself after getting an additional 7 chicks yesterday. I've built a coop! Woowhoo, thankful for the forums on here I was able to refer to. It's 4x4 standing on 18" legs and an attached nesting box (if anyone cares I'll post a pic ). We have had several chickens while living on this particular piece of land but unfortunately there is prey that has consistently plucked them off (pun intended ). Now I've built a proper coop, invested a little more in the security of my other animals (we also have a small herd of goats). Three weeks ago I bought 8 bantams, yesterday we brought home four road island reds and three of another breed that we unfortunately don't remember what were called . The road islands mixed right in with our bantams but it seemed like the bantams were picking on my other three, so I separated them. I'm learning about chickens and will be the first to say I don't know much about them or their behavior. I am willing to learn and Im dedicated to doing things right. My husband however is a big believer in letting nature handle all things animals- not me. My flock will be free roaming as some point, but when? do you think the coop will be big enough? How can I mix the rest of my birds? How long before I should start training them to live in their coop? I currently bring them inside every evening due to owls (etc.) that have made earlier chicks food because of the makeshift brooder we are using not being prey proof. I'll be scanning the forums for additional informations and wisdom! Thanks for your time....
Hello there and welcome to BYC! When ever you keep animals in small spaces, you can't let nature take it's course. Chickens can kill each other. So in this case, you need to intervene to take care of your birds. 5 square feet per bird in the coop, 10 square feet per bird in the run. You can't mix in new birds to an existing flock immediately. There is a pecking order that must be followed at all times within a flock and new birds can be injured or killed. So keep the new birds in an enclosure or cage within the existing flock at all times. Everybody sees, nobody touches. After 3 or 4 weeks you can mix them all together. And always intervene if it turns bloody. I like to add more food and watering stations because the older birds will sometime guard these areas and starve out the new birds. Bantams are a lot smaller than the heavier breeds so be aware that you may need to keep these two sizes apart from each other at all times. Good luck with your flock and feel free to ask around the forums with any questions you may have. Welcome to our flock!
Hello Gabriella! I am also new to all things chicken, so I can't really answer any questions definitively, but I would love to see a pic of the coop and the flock! Quote: For the three you can't remember, there is a neat forum here on BYC: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this Good luck with getting all of your chickens integrated! ttyl, T&S