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A lot of new chicken keepers — or even those just expanding their flocks — worry about the introduction of new chicks from the brooder to the coop. But, it’s not as scary as you think, so long as the temperatures are right (highs in or above the 50 degree range, lows above the 30 degree range) and the birds have fully-feathered out.
Learn more in the follow video from Hank Will, Editor-in-Chief of Grit magazine, who answers the reader-submitted question: “When should chicks be transferred from the brooder into the coop?”
5 Comments
What about the bigger birds picking on the smaller birds? We usually wait until the new girls are the same size as the present flock. What are your thoughts on that?
There are (predictably) lots of different opinions about when and how to introduce new chickens to an existing flock. clearly, there isn’t a single way. If your way is working for you, keep doing it.
[My personal experience: We have two coops that open onto the same chicken yard. We put the growing chicks in the “old” coop and keep their door closed. The older hen are let out of their coop into the yard, and they can eye each other for several weeks. Then we let the newer chickens out into the yard. There is always a certain amount of bullying from some of the older hens, especially over choice bits of food scraps. They usually settle down and a new pecking order is established. 🙂 ]
Many factors play a role in determining when the time is right to move chicks from the brooder to the chicken coop and we’ll take a look at them here. In the heat of summer, chicks may require supplemental heat for only a few weeks, in very cold weather, chicks may need supplemental heat for much longer.
Ok, y’all were so good at answering my question about my ant problem, got another one for you.
What can I do to keep a hen from busting and eating my eggs? I rather not kill the hen, but she’s causing a lot of problems.
My chicks are 3weeks old. They’re with their mother inside my chicken yard and in a private coup. Is it ok to turn the hen and her chicks out with the rest of my flock