Separating young birds inside the coop

[sab]

Does anyone have pictures of how they have younger birds separated from older ones inside the coop??? I guess I am going to have to do that tomorrow and I have no idea how I am going to achieve it. The younger 2 are about 16 weeks old and the older 3 are 1 1/2 yrs. I saw a coon tonight around the coop. The coop is coon safe but the run is not and tonight I have the 2 younger ones in a separated area of the run. If that coon gets in there, those birds are toast. I did everything I could for a makeshift barrier - the coon would have to work it's way through 2 fences and I made sure the 2 young birds are roosting in the middle of their caged area so nothing can just reach in and grab them. They'd have to have ft. long arms. But a determined coon....

I could put a cage inside the coop but that will not give them height for roosting. I'll lay awake all night tonight thinking about this....

Thanks in advance!!

 

[JLS]

In the interim a cage is a great idea. Roosting would be the least of my concerns. A dead chicken cant roost

Anyway, here is a photo of my coop. The section in the back of the photo is the place I put my young birds until they are old enough to hold their own with the rest of the flock. When I am not using it for young birds or the occasional broody I use it for supplies (which is what is in there in this photo). A cage is quicker though.

 

[sab]

We have just finished a 13x8 coop with 5 feet of it being storage like you have in the photo. Like you have also, we have a door that goes into the coop from the storage area. These 2 young birds are not tame like my 3 older birds. "Getting" them in the AM out to the new partitioned area of the run will be a chore every day. And my storage area is just way too cluttered up with some recent stocking up on feed and construction stuff is still being used and placed in there at night. So I don't think I can use the storage area this time around. Next time, I will know to plan on that area being the youngsters room. I was wondering if there were some creative ways out there to do this without bringing in a cage. For some reason, I am not too fond of that idea.

Thanks for the photo! I love seeing what others do....

 

[cmom]

I don't have any pictures but I fixed up a cage with some wire where my younger birds could escape from my older ones. They figured it out pretty quick that they could go into the cage and the older birds couldn't. The younger ones would come out but when the older birds went after them they escaped into their cage. I did put food and water in the cage. Slowly the younger birds came out more and the older birds didn't chase and pick on them as much. Now they are all living in harmony.

I would put the younger birds in a cage with their food and water and shut it and leave them in it for a couple of days and then they will realize it is a safe place. You may be already using a cage so maybe they are already used to it. I put a roost inside the cage.

This is one of the cages I use. I put another piece of wire over the door with just enough space that the chicks can get through. I build cages so I have several I use.

 

[sab]

Ok
It's 11PM and I'm going out NOW to find the cage and take it out to the coop. I can't stand the thought of that coon wondering around those 2 birds.

Thanks for the nudge...

 

[sab]

Ok
Here's what I did. I think it will do for the night.... What do you think? Is this sufficient or do they need more space. This is only a night time situation for them. They are too big to not be caged off from the others and the others are too aggressive - esp. 1.... the head honcho...

And here are their new room mates....

 

[verlaj]

I think it is big enough for the night.

For more space, I suggest getting a portable dog pen. I have 3 of them now - very, very useful for penning birds you need separated - inside the coop or anywhere. The ones I have have 8 panels, about 3 ft high. You have to put something over the top - I use shade cloth and clamp it on the top edges.

The ones I have are made with 8 hinged panels, so you can change the shape of the pen, and fold it up when you are not using it. I got mine at PetSmart.

 

[cmom]

Looks good to me...

 

[John Chicken GB]

Ther looks like plenty of room ( 5* coop ) in there , so I would let them intergrate, The age difference wont matter for long. Get a gun to that 'coon' LOL

 

[sab]

John
I let these ladies free range together esp while I was out there building the coop. Now the coop is done and the older ladies are in the new coop/run. For about a week they were separated while the hens adjusted to the new coop. Then I decided it was time and put the younger 2 in with the other 3. Although the duck charges them like a tank, I am willing to separate the duck for all time if necessary or I feel like if one of them turned on the duck she'd stop that nonsense. So - there they are together minus the duck. And those older 3 about had a hayday going after the young ones. The dominant bird was ready to take every feather in that buff's back out - had her wedged with her head out of the run fencing and she was just deciding which feather to pull first when I stepped in and separated them. So now I'm doing a separation in the run for a while and to allow the little 'ens more time to get some more size to them.

verlag
I do have a dog kennel. It's for a yorkie. I have one of those playpens like you describe but it's being used every night by the goldendoodle as a kennel. I'm going to give the small kennel a try. I know I can reach into that to get the birds in the AM. They won't have a roosting place but they will be safe from the other birds.

I wonder --- if you took a small kennel and placed it up higher off the ground like on a couple of saw-horses --- how would that change the dynamics?? Would that give the little ones a higher place in the pecking order if they are at, or close to, the same roost height as the others? Would that give the little birds the sensation of roosting or is this just a nutty thought???