I have 3 hens, and 14 mixed breed chicks born May 3rd inside my house (4 roasters that are getting big fast), and am getting another possible 12 that will hatch May 24 ish. I have read a ton on this site about integrating and realize I created a headache for myself. I have an 8 by 8 run under a 4 x 8 coop. Thinking I will add space in the run, maybe double it to 16x16. They do range a few days or evenings a week when we are around. Coop is big enough to walk in and has several roosts in it at different heights. Realize it will be a bit crowded. Hoping to have 12-16 birds overwinter.
My thought is - add a small (chicken tractor) coop in a separate yard for the May 3rd round, keep the little ones inside until they are 2 months old, then redo the whole yard so everyone has a new space and integrate all of them - with the little ones getting a slice of the yard with the tractor while the others move into the big coop. I will let them range in the day when I am home, but we lost many already to predation (live in the woods basically). Fox, owl, Coyote, neighbor dogs, fisher, bear, etc all around.
Roasters for meat and I am going to butcher roosters in the fall, unless they are super passive. Not sure about incoming chix as they are from a school project. If they are roasters - I will butcher them as well.
Any thoughts on multi generations? Aside from overwintering coop limitations for more than 12-16 birds - and needing to make a bigger run for sure - have I forgotten anything?
Am I nuts?
Thanks, D
My thought is - add a small (chicken tractor) coop in a separate yard for the May 3rd round, keep the little ones inside until they are 2 months old, then redo the whole yard so everyone has a new space and integrate all of them - with the little ones getting a slice of the yard with the tractor while the others move into the big coop. I will let them range in the day when I am home, but we lost many already to predation (live in the woods basically). Fox, owl, Coyote, neighbor dogs, fisher, bear, etc all around.
Roasters for meat and I am going to butcher roosters in the fall, unless they are super passive. Not sure about incoming chix as they are from a school project. If they are roasters - I will butcher them as well.
Any thoughts on multi generations? Aside from overwintering coop limitations for more than 12-16 birds - and needing to make a bigger run for sure - have I forgotten anything?
Am I nuts?
Thanks, D
