Hi! I am new not only to BackYardChickens but to raising chickens in general. We are awaiting delivery of our 25 Ameracauna chicks by the end of April. I had everything ready, and went to TSC with husband to get a part for the tractor and came home with 11 chicks. So we are starting early. Have site marked off for chicken coop, will start building very soon -now that I have 11 chicks in basement. They are only 5 days old, I love hanging out with them such quirky little ones. I have never had chicks before, so I hang on every peep. We have converted two large dog cages to brooders. Seems to be working great. Since my first set of chicks will be 4 weeks older than the newer set, will I have to keep them separate in the coop for long (once both are out of brooders)? We are building a good sized coop with center entrance with room that will serve as eventual brooder room/potting shed/personal hangout, and two separate areas that can be separated with door so I can keep two separate flocks or have them all together with door open. I will gladly ponder any advice or suggestions. I am also pretty new to forums, but compelled to get all of the information possible to help my growing flock. I have been living off of my neighbors' fresh eggs for last year or so, they moved, so I am about to become the neighborhood chicken lady (I hope).
