Remember those cute, fluffy chicks that, just a few months ago were peeping up a storm in their brooder in our garage?
They’re all grown up now! Well…almost! Technically, they’re still pullets, which means they’re like teenagers…eating everything in sight but not contributing anything (like eggs) yet! 😉
This weekend we finally got them out of their outdoor brooder and into the coop with our Ladies.
Now, the outdoor brooder sits right next to the end of our chicken coop (it’s right up against it), which allows to pullets and chickens to get to know each other for a month or two while remaining in their designated areas.
What we’ve done for the past few years is to start our chicks off inside in a little brooder when we get them in February. Then, once they’re fully feathered out (late March/early April), we move them to the outdoor brooder with a heat lamp for the coldest nights.
At the end of May, we move them to their final home in the coop with our established flock.
What usually happens, and what has happened so far this week, is this:
The pullets all stick together for a few days, venturing out on their own, one by one, from time to time before running back to the safety of their peers…The established hens do a bit of pecking (nothing serious at all) to show them their places in the grand scheme of things…Then, the pullets find their places and fall in.
So far, so good.
The only detail we have to worry about is getting the pullets to climb up into the coop at night as they always want to sleep on the ground on the bottom level of the coop. So, we go out each night for a few night and put the pullets up into the coop until they figure out they can do that themselves and that the Ladies have fully accepted them 🙂
More good news? So far, it appears as though we wound up with five layers (no surprise roosters in the bunch have manifested yet)! WooHoo!
Now, please tell me! How do you introduce your new additions to your existing flock? Do you sneak them into the coop at night while the hens are sleeping or do you have a similar set up to us? Please share your knowledge in the comments below!
xoxo,
M
