Need advice on how to rearrange for older and younger pullets

[lizo97]

I need help with my hoop coop setup. I have two groups of pullets. One group of 7 girls are 9/10 weeks and other younger group of 5 are 6 weeks. I am currently trying to integrate them.. The younger group sleep in the coop in a wire cage in the back. I need to move the chicken door to the back, but I am absolutely stumped what to do with the roosts. I know I need 2 roosts eventually because the Bigs will peck the Littles. Do I put the 2 sets (one high, one low) on the back wall then build a poop board (right now using totes)? Or one roost one back and one on the side wall so they are more separated? I think I need to add a lower roost so they can jump up to the roosts as well. Should I do a ladder set up? I also have to think about where the nesboxes will go eventually. Absolutely stumped as I am a first timer.. During the day the Bigs are in a series of chicken tunnels and the Littles are in a smaller fenced area so they see each other. The older group (2 Blue Australorps, 2 EE, 2 RIR) and younger (3 black Australorps, 2 BR, 1 LO) Thank you!

 

[NatJ]

It looks like you've got enough space, and they aren't that far different in age--I would probably turn the little chicks loose inside the hoop coop tomorrow while the big ones are out (so they get comfortable with it), then bring the big ones back in the afternoon. Add a few clumps of sod or something to distract them a little bit, and watch to see how it goes. (Yes, be prepared to re-separate if they get too vicious, but I don't think they will. If it works, you will then be done integrating.)

Roosts: how high do you ultimately want the roosts to be? Chickens do have wings, so they may not need a lower roost as a step.

If that current roost is 8 feet long, then it should be long enough for all of them now, although a second one would be good for when they grow more.

Anytime you have multiple roosts, the chickens will all try to crowd onto the higher one, so consider putting multiple roosts at the same height. Maybe run one the long way and one sideways, so there's still room for you to walk in.

Are those totes just there to serve as poop boards? It's OK to let poop land on the floor, and they are taking up a lot of floor space. (Right now, they might have extra value as things for chicks to hide behind and jump on top of--especially valuable when integrating groups of chicks. But for long term use, I would just take them out.)

Lots of people do things in different ways, and these suggestions are based on the way I do things. It's quite likely that other people will suggest other things, and you can pick what seems best to you, and try different things until you find what works best for your specific situation.

 

[lizo97]

@NatJ Thank you! You have given me the confidence to make things happen! The totes are temporary as I figure out where to put the roosts. I have a crazy older one that likes to peck and jump on others so I am worried.

 

[lizo97]

Success!! We had the 3x5 cage in the coop for a couple weeks with the 4/5 week old pullets and in a separate minirun where they could see each other. I had them also free range together. Then yesterday I cut 4 small doorways into the bottom so they could go in and out freely. I was having trouble with them anyway escaping their minirun, so with NatJ's advice I just did it with the help of my children. Our big run is just a series of tunnels amongst fruit trees so we added some obstacles and hideout places. My kids also squirted the mean ones with water

when they wanted to peck the Littles. My kids have also been training the Littles to roost. I added a divider so the Bigs and Littles could roost on different sides of the single roost. The Littles had the courage to sleep on the roost today! I am proud of everyone and so relieved!

 

[NatJ]

Glad to hear that it worked well!