I am in a bit of a pickle...sort of...

[centavo71]

So, I will try to put this in a nutshell. I have 20 leghorns and 25 cornish giant meaties. We will be slaughtering the meaties and 9 of the leghorns in about 2 weeks. Right now, I have the coop divided in 2 and the meaties have a run on their end but the leghorns free range throughout the day. There is a door on either end of the coop and I am hoping to seal one off for winter.

My leghorns have started to lay eggs and I really want them inside now or out in the run. Would it work to just let them all be together now and take the divider out?? I need to figure something out b/c I am having a terrible time keeping the leghorns inside. I have been trying to keep em in till noon but that is often pushing it. Maybe i never should have let them start to free range. I am afraid there are eggs everywhere in the bush and grass etc that I just can't find.

Any thoughts?
Thanks

 

[BirdMom]

Build them an enclosed run and make sure you've got some nestboxes for them. You might run into some picking/cannibalism if you try to integrate them right now.

Good luck! Enjoy that lovely fresh home-raised chicken. Can't beat it!

 

[centavo71]

I am so looking forward to a freezer full of home raised chicken! Also looking forward to sharing with friends.

You are probably right, I should build them a run. But then again, if in 2 weeks, they can use the other run...I should perhaps just be patient!

They do have nesting boxes on their side....if they were on the other side I would just flip them around and put the meaties on their side. Hmm....maybe I should see if I can move them.