I have a flock of 28 4.5 week old and 14 3.5 week old "chicks" (mostly pullets and for sure one cockeral and a st run of 5 so I don't know yet what they will be). I have 8 breeds (basically 5 each): Dominiques, Brahmas, Delawares, Orpingtons, Austrlorps, Araucanas, Wyandottes and Buttercups. My coop isn't ready and I I have them in a room in the house that I modified for them with lights/heat, food and water and litter. The room is 5.5'X6.5'. They are getting more and more rambunctious as each day passes. I am worried that this space has just become too small. It wasn't but a couple of weeks ago that I moved them from the 2'X6' brooder because they outgrew it. They are sparring and trying to fly around...I don't know if this is just normal behavior at this point, or if these are signs that they are too crowded. I have seen no injury nor any specific bird acting out much more than any other. The older ones are more pushy than the younger ones. Am I pushing the limit of number of birds in that amount of space at this point? I still have to make nest boxes and a roost and put electricity and plumbing in the coop as well as finish some other minor details before they can be moved outside. I don't have any other place in the house that they can go. I am afraid of that amswer, but can you tell me your thoughts? Thank you for your help. Best wishes,
I expect they're just being teenage chicks. They get bored and will start "horsing" around! Yes, I'm afraid soon they will be feeling crowded. If you can get electricity in your coop, maybe a heatlamp will keep them comfortable (depending on the weather) until all the amenities are completed. They sound like they need some space to play! Good luck in your endeavors You'll get more info from others here too!
I was hoping that they were just "horsing around"...I have been working on their coop which is taking much longer than I had expected (isn't it always the case?). I have posted the progress in the Coop Conctruction section of this forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=12978#p12978 It has been raining so much, that it has delayed me tremendously. I figured I had a month to finish the coop and here it is about 5 weeks in. It has rained allot. The temps are getting better around here, but it did drop to 33°F the other morning when a cold front went through. I also was hoping that I could put them all outside together and not separate them (by age) so there wouldn't be any trouble between the 2 groups. The difference in age is due to a shipping problem with the airport and I lost 11 of the 1st batch. I added another breed to make up the 15 minimum necessary to have them shipped. They made it fine. The 4.5 week olds are almost fully feathered and the younger ones are catching up fast, but I wanted to make sure that they could deal with the temps outside before I put them out there. The temp in the inside "coop" is almost at room temperature now. By the 1st it will be at 70°F. I don't know if I should speed that up at all, since they will be going outside in the very near future. Thank you for your help and any other advice is greatly appreciated.