jeepgrrl
Songster
Hi all,
I am in the process of slowly integrating my 6.5-week-old mixed-breed chicks with my older flock of 7 mixed-breed, free-range hens; 3 of them are 2 years old, the other 4 are just about a year old. Right now I have the pullets in a small dog crate inside of the run ("look but don't touch"). They have been out there for about a week now during the day, but I still put them in the brooder at night. I have locked them up in the coop and run a couple of times during the day, but the older girls got upset because they couldn't go into the coop, hence the dog crate. The crate won't be big enough before too long, so I need to temporarily block off part of the run for the pullets since I feel they aren't big enough yet to defend themselves. So, to finally get to my question: Has anyone used the nylon-type poultry netting (1" squares) to separate adult hens from pullets? It would be most impractical to use regular chicken wire/hardware cloth because of how the run is designed/built, and I want to be sure that the nylon netting is strong enough to hold back any of the older hens who want to bully the pullets, and that it is safe to use, i.e., the pullets won't get caught in the net. The netting would be hung so that it is taut. I plan on leaving the pullets in the run for probably at least 4 more weeks, unless it looks as though the older girls are used to them and I can safely put them in the coop. Sorry for the long-winded post, I just wanted to give as much info as possible. I would appreciate any input that anyone has to offer!
I am in the process of slowly integrating my 6.5-week-old mixed-breed chicks with my older flock of 7 mixed-breed, free-range hens; 3 of them are 2 years old, the other 4 are just about a year old. Right now I have the pullets in a small dog crate inside of the run ("look but don't touch"). They have been out there for about a week now during the day, but I still put them in the brooder at night. I have locked them up in the coop and run a couple of times during the day, but the older girls got upset because they couldn't go into the coop, hence the dog crate. The crate won't be big enough before too long, so I need to temporarily block off part of the run for the pullets since I feel they aren't big enough yet to defend themselves. So, to finally get to my question: Has anyone used the nylon-type poultry netting (1" squares) to separate adult hens from pullets? It would be most impractical to use regular chicken wire/hardware cloth because of how the run is designed/built, and I want to be sure that the nylon netting is strong enough to hold back any of the older hens who want to bully the pullets, and that it is safe to use, i.e., the pullets won't get caught in the net. The netting would be hung so that it is taut. I plan on leaving the pullets in the run for probably at least 4 more weeks, unless it looks as though the older girls are used to them and I can safely put them in the coop. Sorry for the long-winded post, I just wanted to give as much info as possible. I would appreciate any input that anyone has to offer!
