integrating 3 groups

[rottlady]

I have 3 groups of birds. 4.5 months, 3 months and 2 months

Group 1 is 1 Cream Legbar Roo and 3 pullets (2 legbar, 1 Barnevelder)
Group 2 is 1 Delaware Roo and 2 pullets (Delaware)
Group 3 is 2 roos (Barnevelder and Cream Legbar) , 2 pullets (1 Legbar, 1 Barnevelder) I am trying to rehome the legbar rooling)

Our landlady sold our house and we have to move so instead of having the birds in 3 coops (1 per breed) I am going to have to stuff them all together short term in one smallish coop. I have no choice. It is either that or give them away at a huge financial loss

Right now I have them in indoor pens next to each other. They can see and touch each other through the bars. There has been a lot of pecking from one Barne pullet especially at the Delaware Rooster and the 2 month olds

In theory I could keep them in the 3 smaller pens on the porch and rotate them through the outdoor coop for some exercise and change of scenery without mixing the groups yet


Any ideas on how to make this horrible situation work?

 

[Pork Pie]

Sounds a bit sticky. Someone such as @aart, @Sourland or @azygous are some of the members who spring to mind that could help advise. You could try and PM them for help.

Good luck
Ct

 

[Peeps61]

My first question would be how long you will be in this situation? Will you eventually be able to keep all of the birds on a new property? If so, then your suggested short term solution might work.

Long term, you have too many roosters for 7 pullets. Even if you give the two legbars away, you'll still have one rooster too many. You should have 8 - 12 pullets to one rooster. The ones you have will be overmated and miserable if you keep all the roos and integrate the three flocks.

The best way to do it is to let them free range together. Is that not possible where you live now? Just a thought.

 

[rottlady]

the original plan was 1 roo per breed, each breed in their own coop so 4 Cream Legbars, 3 Barnevelders and 3 Delawares each in their own coop.

We will be selling chicks and hatching eggs next spring, so they need to be separated to be producing purebred eggs/chicks

keeping them together is NOT a long term plan because of this obviously

no to free ranging. Not here or at the temp place far too many predators. I'd be losing expensive birds left and right

HOPING to be out of the temp cabin by winter

 

[aart]

Bummer!

I assume the coop/runs they are(were) in belonged to the rental home owner and have (had) to be left behind?

When do you have to move?
Sounds like maybe you have already moved....did you get some notice?

Sounds like you'll have to invest in some housing to save your livestock investment.
Maybe those little farm store coop/runs could be found on clearance about now?
Attach them to the larger day run area in rotation.

 

[Peeps61]

Great suggestion Aart! I still wonder about the hen/rooster ratio, though. I have 30 hens and one rooster and some of them still have ragged backs from mating.

 

[rottlady]

I have lumber for one coop but have not built it yet as it is easier to move lumber than a coop. I do have one portable tractor coop the oldest birds are out in during the day and bring them in at night. It is not remotely predator proof and the bears would have it flat in a night

I have not moved yet, in about a week

Considering keeping 3 groups for now and rotating them through the tractor coop and the coop on a trailer that I will put together when we get moved (the pile of lumber I already have) and 1 group each day will have to stay in the cage on the screen porch at the temporary camp (the cages are 4x4)

We have lived here 5 years and thought we were rent to owning it (rent to own 5 years then get financing) and we were in the middle of trying to get a loan when the Landlady's husband made her list the place for sale and it sold to the third person to look cash buyer so we had about a month notice to move.

 

[aart]

I have lumber for one coop but have not built it yet as it is easier to move lumber than a coop. I do have one portable tractor coop the oldest birds are out in during the day and bring them in at night. It is not remotely predator proof and the bears would have it flat in a night

I have not moved yet, in about a week

Considering keeping 3 groups for now and rotating them through the tractor coop and the coop on a trailer that I will put together when we get moved (the pile of lumber I already have) and 1 group each day will have to stay in the cage on the screen porch at the temporary camp (the cages are 4x4)

We have lived here 5 years and thought we were rent to owning it (rent to own 5 years then get financing) and we were in the middle of trying to get a loan when the Landlady's husband made her list the place for sale and it sold to the third person to look cash buyer so we had about a month notice to move.

Oh Crap! That stinks. So the coops you are using now are non movable and/or have to stay with the place?

Sounds like you'll be doing some daily chicken juggling, good to keep your groups separate as long as possible.
Best of cLuck to you....hang in there.

 

[Mrs. K]

Just a point - depending on your roosters, but one only has to keep them with their matching girls, for about 3 weeks before you begin collecting eggs to hatch. So if you are not selling eggs and chicks for purebred breeds until next spring, you really don't need to keep them in separate breeding groups at this time. So depending on how your roosters get along, you could put them all together at this time.

The other idea, is to make it two groups, a rooster bachelor pad, and laying flock. I have never done pure bred breeding, but from what I have read, it is common to do a trio, as you are currently set up, but only for the time period of collecting and hatching pure bred eggs and chicks. After that the roosters are pulled, to prevent the over mating. This would reduce things to two pens instead of three.

Mrs K

 

[rottlady]

right now I have just the one tractor coop and have 3 4x4' pens IN the house LOL I rotate the groups through the tractor coop, different group each day. It is getting old having a rooster crowing in the house let me tell you but once the LL told us the house was going on the market we did not build the outdoor pens because everything has to be fort knox here because we have a LOT of predators from Black bear on down in the yard every night. I have a bear footprint on my storm door and the weasel chases voles in the flowerr gardens every am
It was not worth time and $ to build such coops and have to pay someone to move them in a few months.

We were actually supposed to close on our own house a few weeks ago but 10 days before closing we got told the federal RD program had run out of funding til Nov........

I shoved the pens together the beginning of the week to try to get these guys used to each other they can touch each other in addition to see and hear. so far I cannot say that a large group integration will work sigh The oldest Barne pullet is fighting with everyone thrrough the wire roo or pullet, but especially the roos. Weird girl. The oldest Legbar pullets are posturing and neck fluffing at the smallest chicks.

ironically the oldest roo tries to stop her and while he postures at the next oldest roo they don't fight through the wire anyhow

If the LL had simply told us she was not going to sell to us and was going to list I would not have gotten any chicks/eggs