More than doubling flock size

[Smithjdsr]

(sorry!) I know there are a bazillion posts abut new birds in an existing flock, but I have some unique parameters, so I’m making a new thread.

So, my situation has some things that won’t change. My daughter got a purple Eglu coop, which she loves. She had 6 hens, one of which turned out to be a rooster-hen and you can’t have a rooster in town, so she ended up with 5 hens that have been laying since about August. She found a lady on Facebook who was selling a purple Eglu and four hens a few weeks younger than hers and then we had two Eglus and 9 hens. We get about 6-9 eggs per day. We survived the winter- including some -20 F days, and she’s totally sold on having chickens (honestly, my wife and I are also having a lot of fun with it). So a third Eglu showed up and my daughter went and got a dozen more pullets. Each coop has a rated capacity of 6.

So, the dilemma: the nine mature birds don’t want the littles in the coops. I don’t mind so much that the 11 littles stay together and stay away from the older birds in the pen during the day- I think that’s pretty natural. But, there is not enough capacity in one coop for the 11 new birds. We have been manually moving the littles into the coops at dark hoping they would learn to go home when it gets dark. Then other night, I saw the littles trying to go in themselves but they either stopped at the door or came back out when the mature girls pecked at them. I think they’d go in, but not if they get pecked!

So, the question: Can I have the mature birds wear Pinless Peepers for a week? Will it help? Will it solve the problem? Will it harm the mature birds?

Is there a better solution? (The three Eglus aren’t going anywhere- my daughter loves them and has a lot invested in them).

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

Until my chicks mature enough to start laying they form a sub-flock. They avoid the adults. If they get too close to the adults they are likely to get pecked so it usually doesn't take them long to learn to avoid them. During the day mine have enough room to avoid them, not a problem. My coop is big enough so the chicks can avoid them at night. They do not sleep on the main roosts with the adults.

An Eglu just isn't that big. They can't avoid getting too close. I don't know how big those pullets are. I would have expected the 9 original hens to be sleeping in two of the Eglus, leaving the third Eglu for the pullets. It doesn't sound like that is what is happening. I'd try to set it up so that one Eglu is left for the pullets only.

During the better weather months you can probably get that many pullets (whether 11 or a dozen) to sleep in one Eglu as long as they are not locked in there a lot when they are awake. But with your -20 F winters I suspect they will be stuck in the coop a lot. That is not good. I'd be looking for a way to provide a big coop that can house all of them with plenty of room. By then they should be able to sleep together. Or provide a much larger coop than the Eglu for your 11 or 12. They will want to sleep together and there will not be enough room in an Eglu for all of them.

You might follow the link in my signature below to get some of my thoughts about space for chickens. In general, the more you crown them the more behavioral problems you have, the harder you have to work, and the fewer options you have when a problem shows up.
Good luck and again

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

(Just call me the resident grouchy old man.)

It all boils down to which is more important, 3 plastic purple coops or 20 living, breathing, feeling chickens? Your choice.

Just for the record: whether I have 2 or 22 birds EVERYBODY gets 4 sqft apiece inside my coops and 20-30 sqft apiece in their runs --just to treat them humanely. And those folks who free-range give them even more space. I think you will find most folks here put a lot of thought into bird health and well-being and quality of life.

Rusty

 

[FrostRanger]

I would suggest looking into a used shed and converting it to a coop. For 20 birds you'd want at an absolute bare minimum of 80sqft of coop space, 20sqft of roost space, 20-60sqft of ventilation and 200sqft of run space but more is better. Prefab coops such as eglus are unfortunately notoriously small and underventilated and overpriced for what you get. You can certainly paint the new larger coop purple (chickens don't care what color their coop is so go with what makes you happy) if she wants a purple coop. You can find some ideas on shed conversions in the coops and run section of the forums

 

[Mrs. K]

Well until you do something else. I think the pin less peepers would be a good idea. I would leave them on until the pullets are laying.

Another idea might be to split the roost in half with a piece of cardboard. For chickens out of sight is out of mind. Cardboard is cheap and with duct tape you could make a mini wall. Maybe thread the roost through a low hole in the cardboard to give a bit of support. I am thinking that space farthest from the opening and more dark will be where the older birds want to roost. Leaving a spot for the youngsters out of sight.

I do rather think this issue will sort itself out, and not the way we think. Chickens never follow the plan.

However, do be aware as stated earlier, overcrowding does call ugly behavior and there is only two ways of fixing it, building bigger or removing some of the birds.

Do not think being raised together, or occasionally free ranging will compensate for a too small area. Watch your chickens and solve for peace in the flock.

Mrs K

 

[FrostRanger]

Well until you do something else. I think the pin less peepers would be a good idea. I would leave them on until the pullets are laying.

Another idea might be to split the roost in half with a piece of cardboard. For chickens out of sight is out of mind. Cardboard is cheap and with duct tape you could make a mini wall. Maybe thread the roost through a low hole in the cardboard to give a bit of support. I am thinking that space farthest from the opening and more dark will be where the older birds want to roost. Leaving a spot for the youngsters out of sight.

I do rather think this issue will sort itself out, and not the way we think. Chickens never follow the plan.

However, do be aware as stated earlier, overcrowding does call ugly behavior and there is only two ways of fixing it, building bigger or removing some of the birds.

Do not think being raised together, or occasionally free ranging will compensate for a too small area. Watch your chickens and solve for peace in the flock.

Mrs K

As I recall omlet coops don't have a conventional roost, rather they have slated floors which the birds can curl their toes around

 

[Perris]

Is there a better solution? (The three Eglus aren’t going anywhere- my daughter loves them and has a lot invested in them).

You might try designating one of the coops as the juvenile one and moving out any adult that went in to roost.

But with 21 birds and capacity for 18 the problem is your daughter bought too many when she added a dozen pullets. So you should either buy a 4th coop (been there, done that ) or remove 3 birds from the flock.

For what it is worth, all the criticisms above from people saying your coops are too small is commonly encountered on BYC from people who leave their chickens confined in their coop for most or all of the time, and apparently don't understand that an Eglu like a Nestera is meant only for roosting and laying in; the birds do not spend the rest of their time in them. So you can ignore their admonitions about space as well intentioned but misdirected advice.

 

[rosemarythyme]

For what it is worth, all the criticisms above from people saying your coops are too small is commonly encountered on BYC from people who leave their chickens confined in their coop for most or all of the time, and apparently don't understand that an Eglu like a Nestera is meant only for roosting and laying in; the birds do not spend the rest of their time in them. So you can ignore their admonitions about space as well intentioned but misdirected advice.

Except that's not true. Nearly everyone on here has a run or free range space and the coops are "only" for sleeping and nesting - I have not seen anyone advocate for keeping birds in coop only other than extreme cases like arctic conditions. Just because one flock of birds accepts tighter confinement doesn't mean another will. Sounds like your set up works for your flock. OP is already having integration issues so trying to force the birds into sharing the space may not work out well.

 

[Debbie292d]

For what it is worth, all the criticisms above from people saying your coops are too small is commonly encountered on BYC from people who leave their chickens confined in their coop for most or all of the time, and apparently don't understand that an Eglu like a Nestera is meant only for roosting and laying in; the birds do not spend the rest of their time in them. So you can ignore their admonitions about space as well intentioned but misdirected advice.

Every winter (Wisconsin) there is sadly about two to three weeks that we cannot let our chickens out of the coop at all as we've got sub-zero temps. Then, even on days when it's above zero, if it's windy, which it usually is, the wind chill is sub-zero.

It's hit or miss each day for a few months in the winter, whether they can come out or not.

Then there's the couple of weeks the momma bears are bringing their cubs around. That's in broad daylight. The chickens are safe locked in the coop.

 

[Perris]

the recommended sq feet per bird is based on the assumption that birds are confined to that space. If they are not, then it is irrelevant.