Silly birds. I put the last two Kraienkoppe cockerels up on the slanted ladder, and rather than using the rungs they tried to climb the upright, flapping and squawking and sliding all the way.
15 so far are either ladder roosting (2) or rafter roosting (13). Another RangerX chose the ladder last night, so we’ll see if she sticks.
The next group to get transferred are the BuckeyeX.
I was concerned about transferring the older, larger birds to rafter roosting, but so far no sign of foot or leg injuries.
21 rafter roosting so far, out of 35.
I’m feeding about 2 quarts per day. Probably much less considering how much they’re leaving, but that’s what I measure out. I leave the remainder out for the following day, but they seldom touch it.
I don’t want to get rid of the cockerels until the girls show a preference. Currently 7 boys, which is a lot. Although all 3 of the new boys are perfectly behaved, only 1 has the size I want.
Two of the older boys (almost 7 months) seem to be following the Jersey Giant pattern and maturing later, but it’s possible that they’re just jerks. Since I have their father and one of their brothers, I should probably just cull them.
Taking the boys down to 5 would take some pressure off the flock. I could add in the injured Ranger (dog attack) although she’s mostly recovered. One wing is non-functional so she’ll never rafter roost.
Are you planning to select only for birds that are willing to rafter roost, or is that just an “it would be nice” trait, not an “I need to select for it” thing?
All of the new breeds prefer tree roosting. I figured I would introduce them to a safer alternative before they figured it out for themselves.
Putting the other birds up there was based on a number of things. First, as I get older I’m not going to want to go out at or before dawn with ice on the ground to let them out. Second, when I bought this place and opened the coop door for the first time I discovered that maybe a dozen birds had died in the coop. Scattered bones, mostly, but one had tried to dig out and got stuck.
I suspect someone died and no one knew the birds were there. Or maybe they didn’t care. Far safer for them in that sense if they don’t need me to let them out.
The older birds never impact trained their bones and muscles, so they’re still in the coops.
Wow, those are good reasons! I’m glad you are so sensitive to your chickens’ needs.
The birds have been gradually moving themselves into the rafters. There are now 23 in the rafters and 8 in the coop. One of the Rangers was attacked by a dog and has a non-functional wing, so until she’s gone the coop will be used.
The broody is currently raising 4 chicks but none of the others have gone broody yet.
I’m waiting!
Impatiently. I have 13 eggs remaining in the incubator. One failed to develop and 2 early quitters. These should be the old roo over the new breeds I got last spring. They’re due to hatch on the 28th.
I never did cull the extra boys. Their behavior was great and the girls weren’t avoiding them (a tell for bad behavior that I haven’t seen yet) so I let it go.
They’ve all integrated nicely into the flock. They have their own responsibilities and there’s a minimum of fuss. The boys in a wild flock aren’t just “extra males.” They patrol while the hens forage, babysit broodies, escort hens that have laid an egg (the “egg song” is an escort call), etc. They even take care of chicks that a broody has finished raising as they grow to adulthood. So I have let them work out their own system and it has fallen into the same pattern.
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This is fascinating! I’m into chickens as a gardener/homesteader, but I’d love to get into chicken breeding and selling laying hens. In fact, I’m here to ask a logistics question! (I’m also reading trying to learn!)
I have 4 chickens, with 3 laying hens and 1 rooster. I picked up 4 chicks from TSC 2 weeks ago, Plymouth Rock pullets. They are all doing well, growing and seem happy. But I guess I didn’t think about this time that will hit in a few weeks when they are too big for the bin I have them in, but not yet fully feathered.
Yes, I have them in a large plastic bin. Its working, for now.
But as you can see, they are growing! And what I’ve read said they are a bigger chicken, these Plymouth Rock birds. We are holding them each day, getting them used to us; we’ll see how that works.
So, My plan. I want to enlarge the chicken enclosure (no free ranging. we don’t have fences and too many dogs), so I’ll add fencing to enlarge the area but leave the old fence up. I have the materials to build a small free standing coop where they can sleep at night. When they are about full size and soon to be laying, I’ll take down the old fence and let all the birds mingle. A friend of mine had the issue of existing birds bullying new and small birds quite a bit, but she also has dogs and was into chickens as pets, not working birds. Is this something I need to be concerned about? Should I keep them separate? Or can I put the new birds out at 8 or 9 weeks into the coop with the others?
And what do I do with them when they are just too big for this bin, but not fully feathered. Its not that cold at night now, 50s and upper 40s, but I’m thinking its too cold for them without feathers? My neighbor had young ‘ens that would hop into a bin at sun down, she covered with a blanket and brought them in at night. But she has a fenced back yard for her chickens. I have a small garden area I could put up temp fencing where they can go during the day, and just bring the bin in over night or up onto the back patio, which is covered and stays warmer. I’d love to hear y’all thoughts! Am I over thinking this?
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Either way should work. By putting up a fence between you’re doing what is known as “see, no touch,” which means giving them a few weeks to get used to each other without being able to get to each other.
The babies should be fully feathered and able to withstand low temperatures at 6 weeks. Earlier if they’re exposed to cold weather from the start.
In my experience, with integration of young chicks the earlier the better, but definitely before the boys start showing their boy feathers at about 12 weeks.
If you put the bin in the coop during the day, the adults will probably ignore the babies. You’ll see some gentle pecking as the adults start to teach the babies appropriate behavior. No problem unless it gets violent, but you’ll want to stay and observe for the first few days.
Just like people, birds have individual personalities, and some simply don’t like chicks.
We have some warm days this week, so maybe I can take the chicks out then. I’m a tad concerned b/c I think they would still fit through the openings in the fencing. As they are 2 weeks now, in 4 weeks it will just be warm here! All the thoughts. 
If they’re not flying yet (my week-old flew about 10 feet yesterday to catch up with his siblings, rofl) you could just leave them in the bin and let the adults hear them. Or use a milk crate and wrap it with chicken wire? Lots of possibilities. You just want them to get used to each other.
I did that today! The chicks seemed to enjoy the breeze that came with being outside. Seems to me that the hens knew something was off, they kept avoiding the bin. But then, I also butchered the rooster today. So, they noticed the chicks/ bin, but also that the rooster was gone. Hard to know what they were thinking. He, the rooster, was getting mean, and I need the coop space for these chicks! And now that I’ve done this once, I think when I see roosters up for giving away, I could stock my freezer. 
maybe, it wasn’t easy. And now I know how good we got it, being able to buy a ready to cook bird from the store.
I’m thinking about how to get the hens to get used to the chicks. I’ve been putting the chicks out in their own little enclosure inside the bigger chicken enclosure for over a week now, and bringing them in for the night, as the only secure overnight space is in the coop. But my coop has 2 levels, and the hens sleep in the upstairs part. I wonder if I can set up a box, likely cardboard, with a doorway that is just big enough for the chicks to get in, but not the hens for them to sleep in so I don’t have to keep bringing them all the way inside each evening. They are about 6 weeks old, looking fully feathered and our nights are in the 50s and 60s right now. Do I just need to let the hens establish their dominance over these chicks? seems like a violent process to me, but I’m a wuss towards such physical conflict (yes, I can be a very girly girl). I’ve got cinderblocks all around the coop, so nothing will dig in. The chicks will likely be bigger than my other hens when they reach full grown, and I’ve read they are ready for the big girl coop at 12 weeks. But this is a lot of work putting them out in the morning and bringing them in at night, and our nights are that cool any more!
At 6 weeks they are fully feathered and should be able to handle the weather.
The chicks need a refuge where they can get away from the hens. A cardboard box would be fine.
I am curious about what you’re seeing as far as violence. My integrations usually consist of hens lightly pecking at the chicks when the babies try to eat first, interrupt the senior ladies discussions, etc. Basic manners stuff.
I did end up rehoming two hens that were homicidal toward chicks in general. There should be no physical damage in general discipline.
Lauren, Thank you! Yes, I did this last night, and everyone seems happy this morning.
Last week, my 14 yr old sat out there, letting 1 chick out, and when a hen would peck it, it got a whack on her back. A little corporal punishment for being “mean”. What I saw was after that the hens might run at the chicks, but they don’t peck them. And all the chicks are out into the enclosure (from their little mini area) and all seems fine. I went out after dark last night and the chicks were in the coop, but in the lower half, so grabbed a small box with a doorway (the 9 yr old made it for the cats when they are much smaller), put some of the chick’s bedding from their bin in it, put it in the coop and stuffed all 4 chicks into it.
Also realized I need to clip wings as one chick flapped its way out of the enclosure yesterday. Maintenance!