Introductions for first time, help please!

[dlamb82]

so I’m a new chicken mama. My oldest are 12 weeks now and my youngest are 8 weeks. I currently have 2 coops with 1 big run that can be separated which is what I have set up right now as I moved the younger chickens out to the coop about a week ago to integrate them with my older chickens. I received a call from the breeder I got some of my chickens from and he is getting out of one of the breeds and offered to sell me his breeding trio. Totally jumping on this opportunity however these 3 are obviously adult chickens. I do not have a separate breeding pen set up yet and will not be able to set one up before I pick up the chickens this Saturday. I plan on leaving the barrier open tomorrow between the 2 coops and run so the chickens I have out there now can interact together as they’ve seen each other for the past week through the hardware cloth so I’m hoping they’ll all be fine. I’m a little concerned about bringing in this trio though as they are full grown birds and my 4 12 week old pullets and 10 8 week old pullets and cockerels are obviously much smaller....thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Do you have large dog crate or some way to keep them apart
I think they is your best option and safe est

 

[dlamb82]

I do have a large dog crate....so you think that’s the better option instead of dividing the two coops and run so they can see each other but have more space? Can you leave chickens in a dog crate with no coop access?

 

[aart]

I plan on leaving the barrier open tomorrow between the 2 coops and run so the chickens I have out there now can interact together as they’ve seen each other for the past week through the hardware cloth so I’m hoping they’ll all be fine.

Give it a shot...then you can use the other coop and run section for the new trio.
Wait a few weeks(or more) to integrate the trio with the youngsters.

Is the one coop big enough for all the 14 chicks?
Plans to get rid of the cockerels?

Pics of your coops/run, inside and out, would help garner more specific solutions.

 

[Mrs. K]

A lot depends on your space, and how it is set up. This is called chicken math, some are fun, more would be better, and we nearly have all been bitten.

However, what seems to be enough space for chicks, can rapidly become NOT enough space in a couple of months when the birds become full grown. Over crowding causes a lot of very ugly chicken behavior. So what are your measurements? Do not think that 'free ranging' can cover your sins, there are times that birds need to fit into their set up.

And what does the run look like? Many people have just an open rectangle, whereas a bird can see every other bird no matter where they are in the run. The is basically a two dimensional area. If you add the third dimension height, you actually give more space to your birds, and make it much more interesting to them. Add roosts, add pallets landed against a wall, add platforms that birds can get on top of or underneath. Add multiple feed stations and position them so that a bird feeding at one station is out of sight of birds at another station.

If you do that, I think you can add them all together. The older birds are only 3 birds, and the chicks outnumber them, plus the chicks will be in their home territory. I would put them all together, and what I would expect is that there will be some posturing, and some pecks as this new flock works out who is who, and where they are in the order. But it is exhausting chasing chicks, especially if they have places to escape to, and a bird can only chase so many. If you only had one or two chicks, I would not recommend this, but with so many chicks, it just spreads out the pecking.

My advice, is let them mix together sooner than later, but make sure your run is set up with hideouts.

This is a wonderful hobby, I have enjoyed it for years.

MRs K

 

[dlamb82]

I will be rehoming 4 of the 5 cockerels I currently have. I want to try and breed the glw (they will not be show quality as I got them from TSC) and my blrw. I was going to set up 2 breeding pens, one for each trio however I wasn’t planning on this step until next year. I wasn’t expecting to be getting an adult breeding trio so soon. Once I rehome the 4 cockerels I’ll have a total of 15 chickens. Between the 2 coops I should be able to hold all of them ok once the cockerels find new homes, I think.... the run is about 10’x20’ so about 200 sq ft. I need to add more perches to it. I don’t have pics of it finished as it stands now as it was too late when I got home to take pictures but I will try tomorrow if I get home early enough. I’ve attached some pics of the run when we were finishing it and the inside of the first coop which is the bigger of the 2.

 

[pennyJo1960]

That does not look so bad you can attach other picks better to have one list of ideas right

 

[Henriettamom919]

Congrats! You definitely have the right thinking and I think you can make your set up work temporarily while you expand if you utilize the height of your run. Platforms and chicken ladders can help a lot while space is at a premium while building or adding on.

You could do a chicken day care and rotate pullets out in groups; a few wood posts driven into the ground with chicken wire wrapped around the posts, add stacked wood, logs, pile of shavings, tree trimmings or dust bath stations. Obviously this only works during the day when you can keep an eye on them but it can be hastily thrown up/moved.

Good luck!!!

 

[dlamb82]

So, can I leave the trio in the dog crate in the run without access to the coop for a few days? I’m worried with having so many cockerels right now (again they’re only 8 weeks old, well this weekend 9 weeks) that the full grown roo will hurt them plus one of my older pullets is currently the top hen of the pecking order- she was putting everyone in their place yesterday and I’m worried she’ll get hurt by the trio since they’re full grown. She’s 13 weeks old this weekend so

 

[mesalina87]

Welcome to the flock! I hope things go well with you and your flock.