PoppasGrill
Songster
We use a store coop, blocking off the nesting boxes, in the barn where the big girls feeding trough is starting at 2-3 weeks. That way the ladies can see and talk to the lil girls with no chance of bullying or hen pecking.They definitely don't need heat at this point so a brooder is not needed. But they would appreciate more space, what I do with mine is I put them in a pen in my barn, separate from the flock and let them grow out for a bit before I introduce them to the flock. If you have a pen beside your coop that would be even better, so they can become acquainted but can't get hurt.
At 6-7 weeks we will move them to the big coop, with lower roosting bars about 1-2’ high, and they usually stay in the coop when the big girls go out to forage, at least for a few days. They learn the new house and get a little social time with the elders.
We did this with 11 pullets back in October , and have 18 in the store coop atm for another 3 1/2 weeks before big
This is our set up , before the chicks go have been put in.
This is the big girls at the buffet line, store coops are off to the right, about 6’ away from the trough.