Here's the scene: I have a coop divided down the middle with screening for my 14-week olds to have some peace from the two and three-year old adults. Out in the pen, I have two pens so the peace can be maintained. The younger ones can go back and forth between the two pens through a pop hole that's too small for the adults to fit through.
All has worked well. But I have three seven-week olds who have been spending their days inside another partitioned off section of the pullet pen with the same kind of access - the little ones can get into all the pen sections through pop holes too small for the bigger ones, then are able to run back to the safety of their own little pen when bullied.
When the 14-week olds were six weeks old, I moved them into the coop, and it went very well because there were two pop holes and the partition. But what can I do about the youngest three?
The coop is not large enough to partition any further. The three seven-week olds are still too scared of the bigger girls to simply move them in.
In the past, I've placed the youngsters inside the coop early in the day, then when the adults came in, the tykes were already on the roost. I'm tempted to try this with these three, but there's the problem of laying. The hens all want to lay in the nest boxes on that side. The other side is the side where the 14-week olds reside, and they're merciless bullies to the three youngest chicks. The adults don't seem to bully the smallest ones as badly as the teenagers do.
These three are close to out-growing the brooder, and besides, they stink! Big girls= big smelly poop.
Has anyone had similar circumstances, and how did you solve these problems? I'm looking for ideas I haven't been able to think of.
All has worked well. But I have three seven-week olds who have been spending their days inside another partitioned off section of the pullet pen with the same kind of access - the little ones can get into all the pen sections through pop holes too small for the bigger ones, then are able to run back to the safety of their own little pen when bullied.
When the 14-week olds were six weeks old, I moved them into the coop, and it went very well because there were two pop holes and the partition. But what can I do about the youngest three?
The coop is not large enough to partition any further. The three seven-week olds are still too scared of the bigger girls to simply move them in.
In the past, I've placed the youngsters inside the coop early in the day, then when the adults came in, the tykes were already on the roost. I'm tempted to try this with these three, but there's the problem of laying. The hens all want to lay in the nest boxes on that side. The other side is the side where the 14-week olds reside, and they're merciless bullies to the three youngest chicks. The adults don't seem to bully the smallest ones as badly as the teenagers do.
These three are close to out-growing the brooder, and besides, they stink! Big girls= big smelly poop.
Has anyone had similar circumstances, and how did you solve these problems? I'm looking for ideas I haven't been able to think of.
