questions on making a brooder inside the coop

[junior67]

I have just about the same idea. I have a pretty big coop with two older hens already. In the house I have a metal feeding trough for a brooder pen . I also have a new lil treactor coop that is 6ft by 3 ft with a enclosed area and a coop also. My plans was to get my chick I have gotten, wean them off the heat lamp, put the lil coop into the big coop. Now I have had a glitch in my well thought out plans the Easter egger’s I ordered were DOA by the time thr got to feed store. There should of been 1-2 wks age between them. Well ordered more feed store said they were DOA AGAIN. They special ordered more n should be here in 3 days. Now after all these poor lil chicks being dead from shipping there will be 4-5 weeks age difference between chicks I have n what I’m getting .
How to integrate them since my plans are as DOA as those poor baby chicks. I’ve thought of letting my hens loose out of big coop but I have 30 feral cats so…… not sure if the cats will bother them, I have no roosters. I am also thinking about getting chicken wire and running it the length of the metal brooder trough until the new lil chicks catch up on getting there feathers then take all the chicks out to the big coop in the lil coop n wire off a section in the run for 2 weeks then make a opening big enough for an escape door. Any suggestions to my thoughts? I would be so appreciative . My chicks I have so far I’ve attached

well as you can tell I am new at this but maybe someone can help more. if you have electricity out there I would make a MHP (safer than a heat lamp) and do your original plan but do the divider you were thinking about doing and put both sets out at once with the divider between them, brood the new babies outside from a few days old up till they are ready to move on out. Hope that makes sense? But I wouldn't let the hens loose out of the coop with cats around just in case.

I am getting mine Fri or Sat (unless they are late like last year and I get them Sun but hopefully not) and will put them in the coop on Tue so after having them a few days. I want them inside so I can really watch them a few days but they will be brooded in the coop from about day 4 or so. from what others have said they should be able to start mingling around 4-5 weeks and hopefully be out of the brooder around 6 weeks or so!

 

[luckycluk]

Thank for replying. I wanted to be able to put all the chicks out in a brooder, ( a small coop 6 ft by 3ft wide and put at at end of my big coops run and block off a section so they have room. But now my eer’s im getting will have a 4-5 week difference . So I want to put chicken wire down the length of metal feeding trough I made into brooder pen with heat lamp, that way the first 8 chicks will get used to the 6 EER’s im getting. The I can put all of them in a brooder area inside my big coop n run. Does this sound correct. I figure all the younger ones ( total of 14) will eventually integrate better when the time comes , 14 youngsters to two hens. I had everything figured out until both shipments of EER’s didn’t make it
Thanks for your help and patience.

 

[jreardon1918]

1 can work, more are better IMO.

We will have three escape doors. One on each side. Here are the locations. The doors will be fashioned in the next few weeks.

 

[junior67]

Thank for replying. I wanted to be able to put all the chicks out in a brooder, ( a small coop 6 ft by 3ft wide and put at at end of my big coops run and block off a section so they have room. But now my eer’s im getting will have a 4-5 week difference . So I want to put chicken wire down the length of metal feeding trough I made into brooder pen with heat lamp, that way the first 8 chicks will get used to the 6 EER’s im getting. The I can put all of them in a brooder area inside my big coop n run. Does this sound correct. I figure all the younger ones ( total of 14) will eventually integrate better when the time comes , 14 youngsters to two hens. I had everything figured out until both shipments of EER’s didn’t make it
Thanks for your help and patience.

you will just need to watch the heat since the EE's will need a lot more heat than the older ones that you have. The older ones should be really close to coming off the heat.
But yes blocking them from getting to each other but allowing them to get used to each other is a good idea. But if you can having them all get used to the big ones in the coop and the big ones get used them them would be ideal. in my opinion which may be wrong.

maybe some with a LOT more experience than me can help. @rosemarythyme @aart @Auntiejessi3

 

[luckycluk]

Junior 67 thank you for your help. I wish we could just put them will together n they would play nice

 

[junior67]

Junior 67 thank you for your help. I wish we could just put them will together n they would play nice

I hear ya. Hate when well laid out plans don't work out

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't do multiple ages of chicks + integration, so not sure what specifically to suggest. Possibly you can brood them all together and let them all out together, though the younger ones will still need a heat source available - but you need a backup plan as well in case the older chicks and younger chicks don't get on for any reason.

 

[junior67]

I was planning on putting the chicks in the coop brooder today (plan before I got them), but they don't always put themselves to bed (under the MHP) and stand in a corner and scream till we push them under....... I have had a couple with pasty butt and they just look so darn little!

How did the ones that have done it put them out when they are so tiny! did they go under the MHP (or heat or whatever you use) no problem? it may be where they are in a bedroom so the sun doesn't go down "naturally" for them, well it does but if my daughter goes in her room sometimes she will turn the light one or the hall light will shine in there. we do our best to keep it as natural as possible.

Thinking I may do it Friday. I am home Sat and Friday should be almost 70 here instead of like today that was 50's, windy and rainy.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've never had issue with chicks not "putting themselves to bed" under the MHP, but it probably does make a difference that we don't have lights on around the property, so they don't have any light to catch their attention or tempt them into coming back out.

I'd probably go ahead and move them out when convenient for you, but plan on peeking in on them just after dark and maybe again later in the evening, to make sure they made it under and are staying there.

 

[junior67]

I've never had issue with chicks not "putting themselves to bed" under the MHP, but it probably does make a difference that we don't have lights on around the property, so they don't have any light to catch their attention or tempt them into coming back out.

I'd probably go ahead and move them out when convenient for you, but plan on peeking in on them just after dark and maybe again later in the evening, to make sure they made it under and are staying there.

Right now I have a cam in my run and one in my coop, to watch the big girls and see who lays etc, I tried to move the coop one to see the brooder better but still hard to see in there. So think I am going to move the run cam into the brooder so I can really watch them. I think once in the coop they will do better with the MHP or I hope