Should I force division of flock to roost?

[Perris]

I had a flock of 7, in a coop big enough (by Poultry Club GB standards) for 8 large fowl. They only sleep and lay in it, free-ranging in a large garden and rural environs from dawn to dusk. Then this summer one went broody and I let her sit, so now I have 9. She sat throughout in the coop, so the chicks have been integrated from day 1. To avoid overcrowding, when they got to around 4 weeks, I got a supplementary coop, just like the pre-existing but a bit smaller, to wit, large enough for 6 (by the same standards). My idea was to try multiple coops, rather than enlarge the existing, because I like the coop to be moveable, and the 8-er is at my limit of mobility. But I do not know how to entice some of the flock to use the new one!
The chicks are now 7+ weeks old, nearly the same size as the broody, and have started to sleep on the roost with the rest instead of in a nesting box. Clearly it is getting quite fractious when I let them out in the morning (on top of space issues, the broody is molting and has a go at everyone but me it appears). But none of them seems to want to sleep in the new coop, though they have investigated it, two POLs have tried the nesting boxes for size, and one or more has been playing with the wood shavings on the poop trays. So should I physically relocate say, 3 of the other hens, during the night, and lock them in the new coop for a day to try to get them to roost there, even if they spend their days all together roaming the garden? Or will they keep trying to roost as one flock, however unpleasant it gets in an overcrowded coop during the long winter days to come?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You will have to lock any you want in the other set up in for a very long time to get them to switch. I have switched birds between set ups and generally 6 months seems to be the number to stop them from returning to the old set up.

 

[Perris]

good grief! that's not what I had in mind at all What about if one of the chicks turns out to be a cockerel? will he want to make a new home in the new coop?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Unfortunately you will need to make some hard decisions. Chicken keeping is full of hard decisions. Unless you are lucky you will probably have multiple cockerals in your chicks. At their age you should be seeing pink combs on the boys.

Crowded chickens will fight just like people will. I personally would move all the chicks to the new coop, than go from there.

 

[Kale Chips]

Yikes, that does seem kinda complicated. Chicken math gets the best of us! Personally, I don't think it would be great to forcefully separate the flock, as that might cause other pecking order issues, or who knows what else. Some say that roosting confirms the pecking order (higher roost=#1 hen) so the night time routine would definitely change, especially if you pulled a random 3 hens (it might be better to pull the bottom three on the pecking order or something similar). But, I don't actually know. If it were me I might try to see if there was a way to connect the two so that they could move easily from one coop to the next...but I know that might not be possible either. Or you could sell both coops and get a bigger one. I don't really know what else to say, but I hope it gets figured out by winter! Good luck!

 

[Perris]

there are only 2 chicks, and they are still hanging round with mum (who is the dominant hen), who is still showing them what food is (though they don't take much notice anymore), and protecting them from the pullets with ambitions to climb the ladder. So I could try moving them to the new coop (without her) as soon as she stops mothering them perhaps? I cannot tell if they're pullets or cockerels as yet.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Well I just realized I have been reading your post incorrectly. I thought I read you had 7 chicks. With only 2 I don't know if I would separate them out either, but if your birds are bickering you may need to do something. Sharing pictures of your set up may help. Sorry for the confusion on my part.

 

[Mrs. K]

Two coops are nice to have. I have two coops, but most of the time, one is empty. You are kind of too big for one, but really too small for two.

Maybe if you get two roosters, then maybe one would take part of the girls to the other coop.

But I think you are going to have a mess forcing the issue. Flocks want to hang together, be part of the flock. While often times there is often a sub flock within a flock, they still all want to be together, and definitely do not want to be one left out.

My advice - cull to fit what you have in one coop, or build a bigger coop or get a used shed, and set it up as a coop. I would sell one of the little coops, but keep one, as having an extra coop, for a place for roosters to grow out, or meat birds is nice.

But you really don't have a big enough flock for it naturally to split into two flocks, and because of that, they will all want to be together, even if it means fighting due to not enough space.

Mrs K

 

[centrarchid]

I pen birds to adopt new location for at least two weeks in the coop to be used. First day they are to be left out, the other group is kept penned. Release of new group late in day first time to increase odds they return to proper location. Only after new group reliably going back to new location do I run both groups loose at same time. Currently I have 8 groups running with separate roosts. Number in groups range 2 to 15 although larger groups are more likely to cause drift to locations not desired.

 

[Mrs. K]

^^ Very good advice from Centrachid

Upon thinking on this, you might try this close up the coop they are using now. You may have to go down and encourage them into the new coop, do that 4-5 nights till they are headed there themselves, then just open the old coop up. Might be that they would split themselves when they have gotten used to the idea that there is nothing wrong with either coop.