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I didn’t know much about multi coop chicken keeping when I started in Catalonia. My uncle did it on his farm with the free rangers but it wasn’t a subject we spoke about at any depth. I think I have him to thank for an interest in the subject for many years. There were other farms I knew of in those years that also had multi coop free rangers.Hi folks,
So... the best laid plans often go astray and all -- especially when chickens are involved -- but this is my "plan" to bring a little matriarchal discipline to the Hooligan Coop.
(Background) I kept a very small closed group of hens for a few years. They had been sick with a respiratory disease and I didn't want to spread it to other birds or have other birds bring in disease either. Those hens have passed, and now I have this growing motley intergenerational crew. So I'm new to this multi-coop tribal thing. Let me know if this sounds like I can have some reasonable hope or wildly wishful thinking.
This is the coop. It's huge for the 3 chicks who sleep there. 4 meters long by 1.3 meters wide x 3 meters high.
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Dusty is brooding her remaining eggs down in that harvesting basket on the right -- under the shade umbrella. There's usually a privacy screen between her nest area and the rest of the coop, but I removed it for the pic.
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Dusty, on Day 16. Future Headmistress of the Hooligans (I hope)
Right now, only three birds roost here at night: A 14 week old family group of two cockerels and one pullet. They only spend the night in there. I let them out to eat breakfast at 6:30am and then they free roam all day. So if Dusty has chicks, she can use the whole space for them during the day if the weather turns bad.
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Segundo, Prima, and Tobias.
The Hooligans.
I moved these three here because they were getting pecked on and thrown out of the senior coop at night. And to split up the morning feeding into two groups because Lucio (the young roo) was getting stressed and the little ones weren't getting enough food.
Moving them to this coop solved both of those problems. But since they're been here, they've also formed their own lawless little goonie tribe. I think they could really use a bit of mama hen style discipline.
That's why I put Dusty in here to brood. I'm hoping she will hatch chicks, mother them, introduce them to the Hooligans before weaning, and then roost in this coop as the Head Mistress in Black.
Also, I think her chicks will be more secure here than around Tina and her brood (if she also hatches) and the other more senior hens. Tina's brooding over in the senior coop, a good 70 meters away.
Dusty wasn't one of Lucio's favorites. They mated, but she didn't lead or follow him around all day. She did her own thing. So I don't think she'll be in a big hurry to get back to his harem since she wasn't high ranking in it. So I'm betting on the chance that she'll be happier as senior hen of the junior tribe.
Anywooo... I'm hoping for a lot of things here. Not really expecting it all to go like clockwork because chickens do whatever chickens wanna do... Only time will tell
First priority on the wishlist is that both broodies hatch at least one healthy chick!
I had a lucky start with there being two distinct types of chicken there when I arrived, so if a split was possible without direct intervention I would have a breed (Marans) and a type (Bantams).
The split came about very quickly due to the chickens and my decision to let one of the bantams (Mini Minx) sit and hatch eggs that the majority of that I witnessed were fertilized by a Marans Rooster named Oswald and occasionally by Major, another Marans rooster.
That was my first important lesson; chicken stuff can happen very quickly, broodies, injuries, tribeless offspring, they can all seem to come at once and to deal with them all, flexibility in housing is a must.
Not only does one need coops to be portable, one also needs somewhere to put them, preferable a few hundred meters of each other. As you may have read, one of the problems I have with Fret at the allotments sitting is I have no secure portable maternity/isolation coop. I can’t stress this enough for people wishing to keep tribes, or free range chickens in general, a couple of portable, secure, isolation coops are a must. I just can’t explain adequately what an asset they are.
If one has a very diverse breed/type chickens then the possibilities them splitting into tribes on their own is remote. Bear in mind that tribes are based around things in common. With chickens looks are very important. Family sometimes overrides looks but looks as in similar feather patterns and colours, similar size and sometimes just temperament can make a split. I’ve had a couple thrown out of a tribe because of such reasons. You may have to do this for them at some point so knowing which chickens spend time with, roost next to, a particular roosters favourite hen/s etc. makes such a split more likely to succeed.
