I have eggs in the incubator and hope to add a few new hens to the flock this summer. I have limited space, no garage or anything, and would prefer to not keep chicks in the house any longer than necessary - they grow so fast! So I have 2 available options of how to introduce them to the flock and would like your advice as to which is better or if I need to look for a 3rd alternative.
I will use a rabbit cage as a brooder. My original plan was to move the cage into the coop and let them live in their usual surroundings, only in a new place, for a while before introducing them properly.
Then I see people do it differently, and my alternative plan is to use one of those small readily bought chicken coops with an attached run and place it next to the existing run. I can't place it inside the run because the door is simply too small to get it in. So I'm not sure if it will do the same good when there will needlessly be a small gap between the two runs. I'm thinking I could run an extending cord to this smaller coop and let them have the heating plate for a while. I am in Northern Norway so summes can be cold at times.
An alternative could be a combination of the two, like putting them into the coop/run during the day and sleep indoors before moving them out into the coop later. But I imagine this would cause more stress. This and option two would also cause them to need to adjust to 3 different living spaces, which is why I had thought number 1 was the easiest and most pain free.
Then there is the issue of timing. My original plan was to move them out at 4 weeks as this is what I have seen done, but now I'm seeing that people recommend a minimum of 6-8 weeks, and that might change the matter. Though I could keep the cage in the coop for weeks if necessary, I just don't know how much of a hassle it would be seeing I've never done this before.
I really would like this to go as smoothly as possible for the sake of all birds involved and I am a bit nervous!
I will use a rabbit cage as a brooder. My original plan was to move the cage into the coop and let them live in their usual surroundings, only in a new place, for a while before introducing them properly.
Then I see people do it differently, and my alternative plan is to use one of those small readily bought chicken coops with an attached run and place it next to the existing run. I can't place it inside the run because the door is simply too small to get it in. So I'm not sure if it will do the same good when there will needlessly be a small gap between the two runs. I'm thinking I could run an extending cord to this smaller coop and let them have the heating plate for a while. I am in Northern Norway so summes can be cold at times.
An alternative could be a combination of the two, like putting them into the coop/run during the day and sleep indoors before moving them out into the coop later. But I imagine this would cause more stress. This and option two would also cause them to need to adjust to 3 different living spaces, which is why I had thought number 1 was the easiest and most pain free.
Then there is the issue of timing. My original plan was to move them out at 4 weeks as this is what I have seen done, but now I'm seeing that people recommend a minimum of 6-8 weeks, and that might change the matter. Though I could keep the cage in the coop for weeks if necessary, I just don't know how much of a hassle it would be seeing I've never done this before.
I really would like this to go as smoothly as possible for the sake of all birds involved and I am a bit nervous!
