do I or dont I

[tlck9]

My friend has 30 rescued hens to rehome. I have 4 in a 8ft x 8ft run with a coop the size of a palace (well its enough for 10 chickens to live in comfortably

I also have my coop and run, which is more for 3 chickens

Now should I get 3 ex batts and have them in my little ark and run, or do I leave it till I get my extention to my 8ft run

or do I just keep my four little uns until i'm a bit more experienced.

Is 7 harder to cope with?

[Nicos]

well- I started with 6 and within 5 months had 18 ..we're back down to 9 - and to be honest , the only difference for me was more cleaning out which only took a few extra minutes

...follow your instincts!

[lynda66]

i love the way people still come in and ask us chicken nuts ... should i get more chooks .... errrrrrrrrr like you're gonna get anyone who actually says don't get em .... *giggles and shakes head, and wanders off smiling xxx have fun

[Hans Mum]

you know you want to.....

[tlck9]

yes I do, but I'm wondering if they would be okay in the smaller coop until my bigger run is extended in the spring...or I could wait till spring

this photo shows the coop/run (in my 8ft run), they would be housed in the ark part and the under run....my thoughts are that this may not be big enough for them (they wont have access to the 8ft run until this is extended

[Nicos]

I can see you would want to give them as much space as possible.
Mine free range so i can't really comment- cos I've no idea- my thoughts though are that that must surely be more space than they had when caged up????
How long before the extension is done????

[tlck9]

depends on the weather and if I get the security fencing i'm after, but its probably going to be feb now

My thoughts were that they would go in here anyway until they found there feet and could become a bit more resilient and then be moved once the run is extended

but then my other fear is they would upset the balance of the 4 I already have

oh I dont know decisions decisions

[Suechooks]

It will upset the dynamics of your current flock; you need to keep them separate for a time anyway.
I've just had 4 new ex-batts. I kept them in a 10 x 3 run for a few days then opened it so they had more space and after 10 days I put them in with 2 old ex-batts and 4 young Warrens at night. For 2-3 days there was a lot of squabbling (caused by the new girls) but now they are fine. They should have at least 8 sq ft per hen in the run - RSPCA say 1sq m per bird is free range. My new girls were quite well feathered and feisty and the existing girls are very placid so it wasn't as difficult as it could have been.
It really depends whether you're ready for more yet or would rather wait till you're more prepared!

[moola]

If you can move the small ark around it will be fine. They will need fresh ground esp in winter. Do be wary though that rats have a tendency to go under ark bases - easy enough get to and nice and warm underneath at night. If you move it regularly though you can get round this problem as they will have to dig fresh every night. The exbatts will not need masses of space to start off with - they won't know what to do. I'd let them buddy up in the ark and form a group, long before you introduce them to your other 4. Keep each group within sight so that they gradually become accustomed to each other.

[tlck9]

since omlet had her op they have been swabbling between them any way, I have heard them all having a go between them and at omlet, so perhaps brining in another 3 at some point may help tip the balance in the favour of Omlet

there are two main hens that have been having a go and not just at poor omlet, she just runs off and gets to the highest point

[Bephlam]

Couldn't you take the ark out of that big run and just let the new ones have the ark and the other ones the run? I can't see the pic too clearly, so is the ark their only 'bedroom'? If so, could you knock up a quick coup...and pop a much smaller coup in the big run to give everyone more space??

I'm a chicken freak, so my suggestion probably isn't the easiest...but it's what I'd do in order to have more feathery babies!

[frias]

The more hens you have, certainly the more poo and destruction. New hens need somewhere to be able to hide and get away from the bullies too. I introduced 3 new ex-batts to 3 oldies and all went well at first. Then all hell broke loose and for several weeks I spent nearly all day, every day being a referee.

[tlck9]

my existing four have the complete run with an external coop with tunnel into the run. the ark has an enclosed run which i've moved out of the main run now - to make more room from them

so new ones could go in the ark/run. the run goes under the ark, so has around a 7ft x 3 foot area

i wasnt sure this would be big enough for 3x ex batts but it could go next to the main run. i used this ark/run for omlet while she was poorly

[Eco-Chic]

Tick from what I've read the ex-batts will need to strengthen their leg muscles gradually and need to be kept fairly confined until they've done so. Your ark and integral run will seem huge to them compared to what they are used to.

Go fer it.

[frias]

my existing four have the complete run with an external coop with tunnel into the run. the ark has an enclosed run which i've moved out of the main run now - to make more room from them

so new ones could go in the ark/run. the run goes under the ark, so has around a 7ft x 3 foot area

i wasnt sure this would be big enough for 3x ex batts but it could go next to the main run. i used this ark/run for omlet while she was poorly

Me thinks you're gonna do it.