Ridgerunner
Garden Master
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2009
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I was asked about my grow-out coop so Ill start a thread on that topic.
First, there is no right way or wrong way to do any of this. We all have our own unique situations. This is just the way I do it. This is only for brooder raised chicks. When I have a broody, she raises her chicks with the flock.
My brooder is in the coop. I normally keep chicks in there until they are 5 weeks old. Sometimes a bit less, occasionally a few weeks longer.
There is nothing special about my grow-out coop. A coop is a coop is a coop. I repurposed an old chicken tractor that was 4 x 8. I raised it enough so I could get some bins under it to catch the poop and put hardware cloth as a floor. Inside it has 3 roosts 4 long and room for feed and water. No nests. I can put up a piece of tin if I want to stop the drafts from underneath.
Its at the other end of my run from the main coop. I put up a divider fence so I can isolate this part of the run and put a door in the fence that leads to my electric netting. Thats my physical set-up.
I move the chicks to this at maybe 5 weeks and leave them locked in the coop portion for about a week so they get used to it as home. Then I block off the run portion from the adults and open the pop door so the chicks can get outside. With this last group I had most outside within 15 minutes. Some groups take two days before any venture out to the run.
The only time the adults cant see the chicks from when I put the chicks in the brooder after I take them out of the incubator or unpack them if they are from a hatchery is that week they are locked inside the grow-out coop itself.
Occasionally the chicks go back into the coop at dark, but most of the time some or all huddle on the ground below the door. I just grab them after dark and toss them inside. With this last group they all huddled below the opening the first night but the next night they all went inside on their own. I had some once where I had to put two inside for two straight weeks before they finally caught on. The rest went in on their own but those two were really stubborn.
When they are all going back into the grow-out coop at night, I alternate letting the adults or the chicks roam in the electric netting area, adults one day, chicks the next, for about a week. Then I just open all doors and gates and let them roam together. They are usually about 8 weeks old at this stage. Occasionally there is a bit if chasing and pecking the first day, but usually not and when there is, not much. The young ones very quickly learn to stay out of the way of the older ones and the older ones dont bother the young ones unless their personal space is invaded.
Most of the time my brooder raised chicks start to roost at 10 to 12 weeks. Ive had some start at 5-1/2 weeks and a few that take a little longer than 12 weeks, but 10 to 12 is a good average.
Usually around 12 weeks of age I move the young ones into the main coop. The adults usually are pretty mean to them on the roosts so the young ones look for a safer place to roost. I put up a roost a bit lower and off to the side from my main roosts and over my nests so they have a place to go that is not my nests. Thats why I like them to be roosting before I move them to the main coop, theyll use that alternate roost. If they are not roosting when I put them in, they usually have a transition time when they are using my nests to sleep in. They do poop a lot when they sleep.
The reason I like to move them to the main coop as soon as possible after they are 12 weeks is that the poop gets too big to fall through the hardware cloth that is the bottom of the grow-out coop. I once kept a group of 15 roosters out there until they were about 5 months old and I put them in the freezer. I spent way too much time cleaning the poop build-up off that hardware cloth. I didnt want to move them to the main coop. They were driving my rooster bonkers anyway just roaming with the flock during the day. He stayed busy breaking up fights and keeping them off the hens.
Why do I do it this way? I want a gradual controlled integration. Ive never lost a chick integrating this way, which means Im being overly cautious, but I can live with that.
BJ, I hope this answers your questions. If not, ask away. Its not really about the grow-out coop itself. There is an infinite number of ways you can build those. Its more about the methodology. There are plenty of other people on here that do it entirely differently and are very successful. Your job is to try to figure out which methods might apply to your situation.
First, there is no right way or wrong way to do any of this. We all have our own unique situations. This is just the way I do it. This is only for brooder raised chicks. When I have a broody, she raises her chicks with the flock.
My brooder is in the coop. I normally keep chicks in there until they are 5 weeks old. Sometimes a bit less, occasionally a few weeks longer.
There is nothing special about my grow-out coop. A coop is a coop is a coop. I repurposed an old chicken tractor that was 4 x 8. I raised it enough so I could get some bins under it to catch the poop and put hardware cloth as a floor. Inside it has 3 roosts 4 long and room for feed and water. No nests. I can put up a piece of tin if I want to stop the drafts from underneath.
Its at the other end of my run from the main coop. I put up a divider fence so I can isolate this part of the run and put a door in the fence that leads to my electric netting. Thats my physical set-up.
I move the chicks to this at maybe 5 weeks and leave them locked in the coop portion for about a week so they get used to it as home. Then I block off the run portion from the adults and open the pop door so the chicks can get outside. With this last group I had most outside within 15 minutes. Some groups take two days before any venture out to the run.
The only time the adults cant see the chicks from when I put the chicks in the brooder after I take them out of the incubator or unpack them if they are from a hatchery is that week they are locked inside the grow-out coop itself.
Occasionally the chicks go back into the coop at dark, but most of the time some or all huddle on the ground below the door. I just grab them after dark and toss them inside. With this last group they all huddled below the opening the first night but the next night they all went inside on their own. I had some once where I had to put two inside for two straight weeks before they finally caught on. The rest went in on their own but those two were really stubborn.
When they are all going back into the grow-out coop at night, I alternate letting the adults or the chicks roam in the electric netting area, adults one day, chicks the next, for about a week. Then I just open all doors and gates and let them roam together. They are usually about 8 weeks old at this stage. Occasionally there is a bit if chasing and pecking the first day, but usually not and when there is, not much. The young ones very quickly learn to stay out of the way of the older ones and the older ones dont bother the young ones unless their personal space is invaded.
Most of the time my brooder raised chicks start to roost at 10 to 12 weeks. Ive had some start at 5-1/2 weeks and a few that take a little longer than 12 weeks, but 10 to 12 is a good average.
Usually around 12 weeks of age I move the young ones into the main coop. The adults usually are pretty mean to them on the roosts so the young ones look for a safer place to roost. I put up a roost a bit lower and off to the side from my main roosts and over my nests so they have a place to go that is not my nests. Thats why I like them to be roosting before I move them to the main coop, theyll use that alternate roost. If they are not roosting when I put them in, they usually have a transition time when they are using my nests to sleep in. They do poop a lot when they sleep.
The reason I like to move them to the main coop as soon as possible after they are 12 weeks is that the poop gets too big to fall through the hardware cloth that is the bottom of the grow-out coop. I once kept a group of 15 roosters out there until they were about 5 months old and I put them in the freezer. I spent way too much time cleaning the poop build-up off that hardware cloth. I didnt want to move them to the main coop. They were driving my rooster bonkers anyway just roaming with the flock during the day. He stayed busy breaking up fights and keeping them off the hens.
Why do I do it this way? I want a gradual controlled integration. Ive never lost a chick integrating this way, which means Im being overly cautious, but I can live with that.
BJ, I hope this answers your questions. If not, ask away. Its not really about the grow-out coop itself. There is an infinite number of ways you can build those. Its more about the methodology. There are plenty of other people on here that do it entirely differently and are very successful. Your job is to try to figure out which methods might apply to your situation.
