Topic of the Week - Moving chicks out of the brooder and into the coop

[mstailfeathers]

Got 7 chicks in September. I used an ecoglow as their heat source. Chicks loved the ecoglow and would come out to eat, play and go back under when needed. I also put in and ostrich feather duster. Took them a bit to figure out what it was but when they did, if was funny. 7 little chicks trying to under the feather duster all at once. LOL One morning I was up and they were still asleep. Butts under the ecoglow and there little head peaking out. At about 4-5 weeks I took my brooder bin (extra large clear plastic tub out to the coop. I left the screen over it for about week so my hens could look at get use to them. After a week or so I let then out with my older hens. I turn the plastic bin sideways and filled it loosely with straw. I made all sorts of places that the chicks and get away and hide or play. It was my first time doing this and I have to say it went well. Have some minor chasing from the hens, usually over food. I have 3 food places and several places to get water. One night I found my rooster with his wings around the chicks up on the roost.
I think each flock is different. Integrating should be based on how well you group deals with change. My flock of hens and rooster are mellow and pretty accepting. I know when I let the chicks out of the brooder for the first time, my rooster stood by the area and when the hens walked in he made a very low growl noise to them. None of the hens crossed that imaginary line for a week!

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Hello! I have been raising chickens for a little over a year now, and I have been hatching and raising waves of chicks for the past 3, almost 4 months. This how I have organized all the different introductions:

I move the chicks out of the brooder boxes at 4-6 weeks old, depending on how many there are in a box. I have a doghouse I converted to a small coop that a heat lamp can sit inside of, so when I had to move 4 week old chicks during the cold season, I was still able to keep them warm. The doghouse is equipped with an attached pen that they spend the next couple weeks in. Again, depending on how many there are, I might release them into the flock by 6-7 weeks. But if I only have two or one, I would wait until about 10-12 weeks so they fair better against the inevitable pecking order drama.

My main coop is big enough that it has 4 tiers of roosting bars, and the youngest ones simply sleep on the lowest bars to stay safe. It takes a week or two of me placing them there off of the upper roosts before it takes, but it's worth the effort. Then they all kind of figure it out amongst themselves from there.

If one of my coops gets overcrowded, I will sometimes move the newest chickens to another coop that has more room and it usually works out fine.

I included photos to share what the dynamics of my flock look like with all the different chicks.

 

[D1N0]

Hello! I have been raising chickens for a little over a year now, and I have been hatching and raising waves of chicks for the past 3, almost 4 months. This how I have organized all the different introductions:

I move the chicks out of the brooder boxes at 4-6 weeks old, depending on how many there are in a box. I have a doghouse I converted to a small coop that a heat lamp can sit inside of, so when I had to move 4 week old chicks during the cold season, I was still able to keep them warm. The doghouse is equipped with an attached pen that they spend the next couple weeks in. Again, depending on how many there are, I might release them into the flock by 6-7 weeks. But if I only have two or one, I would wait until about 10-12 weeks so they fair better against the inevitable pecking order drama.

My main coop is big enough that it has 4 tiers of roosting bars, and the youngest ones simply sleep on the lowest bars to stay safe. It takes a week or two of me placing them there off of the upper roosts before it takes, but it's worth the effort. Then they all kind of figure it out amongst themselves from there.

If one of my coops gets overcrowded, I will sometimes move the newest chickens to another coop that has more room and it usually works out fine.

I included photos to share what the dynamics of my flock look like with all the different chicks.

The chicks still alive?

 

[D1N0]

Well aren't chicks anymore

 

[FunnyBunny89]

The chicks still alive?

Yes? I don't understand the question.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Hi! I'm 9weeks old! Can you tell if I'm a female or male? My mom said she heard me crow....

 

[Folly's place]

Cockerel!