Roost space per bird

[BlueShadow]

@junebuggena How do you integrate so young? Do the chicks need supplemental heat in the springtime? I would be worried about mine escaping from the run, the fencing on our run has pretty big holes (2X4 inch)

 

[Ridgerunner]

I let my broody hens raise their chicks with the flock. By the time she weans them they are integrated, but they still have to handle pecking order issues by themselves.

My brooder is in the coop. The chicks go in there straight out of the incubator or from the post office. The chicks are raised with the flock. Usually at five weeks I do one of two things. If the coop is not very crowded I open the brooder and walk away. If the coop is crowded, I move them at 5 weeks to my grow-out coop, which is right next to the adult chickens and has a small run isolated with it. When I’m comfortable the chicks will return to that grow-out coop at night instead of going back to the main coop, I open it up and let them mingle with the adults. That’s usually about 8 weeks of age.

A few key points. Mine are raised with the flock, either by a broody hen or in that brooder/grow-out coop. I’m not tossing strangers out there, they know each other. I have a lot of room. The main coop is 8’ x 12’, I have a 14’ x 32’ main run, and an area around 45’ x 50’ enclosed in electric netting. The chicks have lots of room to avoid the adults, which they use. I allow them to mingle as they wish, but I don’t force them to stay close together. I have three or four different feeding and watering places scattered around so they can all eat without challenging each other.

This is my brooder in the coop

And my juvenile roost over the nests. I use the top of the brooder and top of the nests as droppings boards.

This shows an overall. The grow-out coop is on the right and the main coop (built into the end of an existing shed) on the left. I sometimes put a broody hen with her chicks in that little pen in the electric netting when the main coop is pretty full. She takes them back in there at night so I can lock them up from predators.

 

[junebuggena]

@junebuggena How do you integrate so young? Do the chicks need supplemental heat in the springtime? I would be worried about mine escaping from the run, the fencing on our run has pretty big holes (2X4 inch)

By 4 weeks old, they are completely feathered in and able to handle the average temps of between 40 to 50 degrees. I brood in an unfinished room with a concrete floor that has about the same ambient temp year round.
Then they go out to the grow out coop that is inside the adult's main run.


The key is giving the chicks a safe place for them to escape the adults if needed, and plenty of space for all.

 

[BlueShadow]

@Ridgerunner Nice, thank you for that explanation. I don't think I can do that yet, but as I am currently wanting to redesign my coop (thus the questions about roost space) I will keep those ideas in mind. My coop is about 14'x14', I don't know exact dimensions of the run but it is roughly 20'x50'.

Does the broody hen raise the chicks in the brooder? When does she wean them? How do you know she has weaned them?

 

[BlueShadow]

By 4 weeks old, they are completely feathered in and able to handle the average temps of between 40 to 50 degrees. I brood in an unfinished room with a concrete floor that has about the same ambient temp year round.
Then they go out to the grow out coop that is inside the adult's main run.

The key is giving the chicks a safe place for them to escape the adults if needed, and plenty of space for all.

Okay, then I definitely baby my chicks way more than they need! Wow. I don't know if this is good or bad, you are giving me WAY less work to do with raising chicks... hmm....

I wasn't so worried about daytime temps, but rather nights that are often in the 20s or 30s here in the springtime. I suppose it doesn't get quite that cold in the coop though, I certainly haven't had frozen waterers for quite awhile now.

I LIKE your grow out coop idea!

 

[Ridgerunner]

By raising mine in the coop mine are exposed to cooler weather. I keep one end warm and let the far end cool off as it will. So mine are acclimated to cooler temperatures. I feed a 20% Starter for the first month or so, which helps them feather out faster with that protein level compared to a lower protein feed. My brooder and grow-out coop have good breeze protection down low but great ventilation up high. In winter I wrap my brooder in plastic to keep some heat in, but it still has good ventilation up high.

At different times I’ve had chicks less than six weeks old go through nights with lows in the mid 20’s F with no supplemental heat. I’ve raised mine to prepare them for that. They can handle it. Others on here report colder temperatures at an even younger age but I’m kind of cautious. The ones that do that at a younger age also raise them to prepare them for it.

In summer I’ve had hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks of age. The weather is warmer obviously, but at three weeks they could keep themselves warm at night. Chicks are a lot tougher and can handle cooler temperatures than many people give them credit for.

 

[BlueShadow]

@Ridgerunner Yes, we like higher protein for chicks too, its usually 20% but sometimes as high as 23% if we have guinea keets with them. No matter where I raise the chicks, I like the idea of getting them acclimated to the ambient environment more quickly. It may be in our brooder shed, but it still will be easier to care for them.

I guess I still am confused about a broody weaning the chicks. What does that mean? I usually leave the broody with the chicks for several months. Well, last year I was going to move her out around 2 months but then she started to molt so I left her with the chicks until molting was over because their feed was higher protein. But the hen still was calling and caring for the chicks until I moved her back with the main flock.

 

[SueT]

I am appreciating all the advice on chicks, temps, integration, timing, etc. I have 6 chicks 2 weeks old, and will make them a temporary enclosure within the hens' coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Weaning her chicks is when a broody stops caring for them and protecting them. During the day she will show them where to eat and drink, keep them warm if necessary, and protect them from dangers, real or perceived. Some broody hens keep their chicks pretty close by her, others let them roam quite a bit. But either way, during the day she takes care of them.

At night the broody hen keeps her chicks warm if they need it. She sleeps with them, either on the coop floor or on the roost. If it is on the roost, she protects them from the other chickens. Either way she takes care of them.

When she weans them she quits doing all that. She goes back to hanging with the flock during the day and sleeping with the flock at night, having nothing to do with her chicks. When she builds her body reserves back up enough she starts laying eggs. Once she weans them she is through being broody.

I’ve had broody hens totally break from their chicks as early as three weeks of age. I’ve had several stay with their chicks until 9 weeks of age, some people say theirs wait even longer. I’ve had hens leave their chicks alone at night but care for them during the day. I’ve had hens abandon their chicks during the day but protect them on the roosts at night. The only thing consistent with chickens is their inconsistency. Since my broody hens rise their chicks with the flock, they are in total control of when they wean them.

 

[BlueShadow]

Weaning her chicks is when a broody stops caring for them and protecting them. During the day she will show them where to eat and drink, keep them warm if necessary, and protect them from dangers, real or perceived. Some broody hens keep their chicks pretty close by her, others let them roam quite a bit. But either way, during the day she takes care of them.

At night the broody hen keeps her chicks warm if they need it. She sleeps with them, either on the coop floor or on the roost. If it is on the roost, she protects them from the other chickens. Either way she takes care of them.

When she weans them she quits doing all that. She goes back to hanging with the flock during the day and sleeping with the flock at night, having nothing to do with her chicks. When she builds her body reserves back up enough she starts laying eggs. Once she weans them she is through being broody.

I’ve had broody hens totally break from their chicks as early as three weeks of age. I’ve had several stay with their chicks until 9 weeks of age, some people say theirs wait even longer. I’ve had hens leave their chicks alone at night but care for them during the day. I’ve had hens abandon their chicks during the day but protect them on the roosts at night. The only thing consistent with chickens is their inconsistency. Since my broody hens rise their chicks with the flock, they are in total control of when they wean them.

Thank you for such a thorough and detailed explanation. I was thinking along those lines, but the details help me to know exactly what you meant.

You said you had multiple feeding stations. Are they all in the coop, or are some outside? What do you feed the juveniles once they are integrated into the flock? I can't imagine that layer feed would be good for them, with its high calcium.