need ideas for chicks when the go out to big 10x12 coop

[blueseal]

anyone have pics how to divide the coop in half so the older flock cant get at them . thanks.

 

[Big dreams]

How old are the ones you are putting out and how many do you have?
You could just fence a corner for them maybe?

 

[blueseal]

Quote:
i was thinking maybe 6-8 weeks they would be ready to go out to the 10x12 shed coop without any lights. i will have 13 in all and they are about a week old right now so hopefully by 5 or 6 more weeks they will be featherd out. i have some welded wire fencing with 2x4 holes. do you think they will get thru the holes by the time they are 6 weeks old . if so i can buy some regular chicken wire. thanks for the info.

 

[cochinlvr]

We just got our coop last week and put our almost 12 week olds out in it... Same deal, welded wire. In no time we found a squirrel in the run !! I ran down to Lowe's and got some 3 ft. tall hardware cloth and a staple gun and got busy. And the other problem we had was our rooster and hen were picking fights with young roosters in the new coop - if we didn't put that chicken wire up I am sure that our hen Alice would have pecked the daylights outta one of those young roosters, just letting them know who the Big Girl is in the yard. And Tony (Soprano) the rooster was lined up to tag team for Alice... (shakes head remembering). Now they can argue all they want but can't get at them...

The rule of thumb I learned here is you start out with chicks at 95 degrees the first week, THEN lower 5 degrees every week. At six weeks your chicks should have a consistent temp of 70, and being you are in Maine and that would be about mid-May that sounds too early. You get consistent warm temps in mid-May ??? I would say wait until 8 weeks and do what we did:

We just hooked up a really heavy duty extension cord from the cellar to our coop. We got a ceramic light fixture in the ceiling of our coop and a 250 watt red infrared going since morning. It 43 outside and a wet windy and either rain or flurries tonight, but a lovely 65 in the coop... Our babies are gonna sleep like champs tonight... And so are the wife and I !! Yeah no more crowing at 05:00 !!

I wish you the best with your coop and babies. We just got this batch out in the coop and a friend has some buff bantam cochins eggs she just put in the incubator for us so we're lining ourselves up to do it all over again... I love these little chuckleheads... I can call roosters that without it being swearing, RIGHT ??? LOL

Michael

shot this Friday before we had the 2 coats of varnish and the hardware cloth on the run.

 

[Big dreams]

I am rather new to this also, was really hoping that someone else would jump in, it is amazing how small a space they can get thru I am not sure they could get thru that you can always test it out. I put my 6 week olds in a chain link yesterday for the afternoon (coop not done) I put a tarp around the bottom so they couldn't climb thru, they did squeeze between where the door is, or I guess one did, so I added a screen there. As far as the coop I would think what ever is easiest for you to tend to them where the others could still see them would be good.

 

[Heather J]

My three week old chicks can get through 2x4 holes, but my five week olds cannot--their parents are standards. We have power in our coops, but didn't the first year and I just used outdoor extension cords to run from the house too (I bought them at a thrift store, but they were in excellent condition).

I moved my first group out at two weeks old (but it was warmer at that time of year). This last bunch I moved out at three weeks because I had a slightly older crew already out there. I was worried about mixing the hatches, that they would get picked on, but there hasn't been any problem yet. The fence between them and the hens on the other side is only four feet, but that's enough the adults don't want to try and get over or around the fence and everyone is happy.

Just make sure they can huddle under the heat lamp if you do it this way. I pointed mine into a corner and they're happy as clams. This saved me tons of time cleaning out brooder boxes, and gave the babies a lot more room to move around--though I'm going to have to move them to a grow-out coop soon because they grow so dang fast!

 

[chickn]

here is my inside pictures

 

[grullablue]

chickn, that's absolutely BREATHTAKING!! I'm drooling here! LOL

 

[chickn]

Quote:
well, thanks, i now wish i had done the other side the same way,but instead it is 4 pens over 4 pens. live and learn i guess.

 

[morelcabin]

Here is what i have been working on this spring...Under these three pens ( 3.3x3 each )is one long one (3x10)for bantams and it leaves the rest of my shed (7x10) free for the bigger birds. Not as well built as chkn's but functional

And here is my other coop

CHKN I love your set up!