We have a video on that very topic! Raising Chickens: Moving Your Pullets / Chicks to Your Coop

awesome thanks, I will check it out.

Sound like you're doing the right things. Only other advice is to watch the chicks. They will let you know how they're doing. Make sure they're brooder is dry, watch whether they gather under the heat lamp and adjust accordingly and you should be fine.

Except for sex link breeds (like red star) it's very hard to tell the difference between male and female. Usually they will have them separated at the store. Check out this clip: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jaqUntmImayRhY0.html

Any paper will do. We usually use newspaper.

I've never tried this but I believe that if they are the same age and young enough, say less than 4 weeks old, you should be able to integrate them now. I've never seen significant pecking behavior in pullets so you should be okay. The only worry is if they one group had different vaccinations than the other. For example if one is vaccinated for coccidiosis and the other is not then you might want to give them different feed. If you do have any that were vaccinated make sure they don't get medicated chick starter (most are). We've had to move to game starter which is not medicated.

Okay thank you very much, that is very helpful. I will be sure to check on their vaccinations and feeding types.

I can't answer authoritatively since I'm not familiar with Michigan weather but I would suspect it would be okay. The longer I do this the less I worry about cold. They seem to tolerate it very well and there is a good bit of lore that it was traditional never to close up a coop fully in the winter (though perhaps not in Michigan).

Our brooder is roughly 6' x 7' and we can raise up to 50 pullets in it. That's pretty much pushing the limit. 25 is more comfortable. No, we never expand it. They are smart enough to gather under the light when they are cold and having extra room lets them move around and not get to hot. Even at one day old they're fairly self-sufficient and long as conditions don't tax them too much.

If you keep the light low enough, then yes. Just be careful not to make it too low. Watch them to see if they gather under it or avoid it. You want it somewhere in the middle.

That's a good question that I can't answer with any authority. We've never tried that. My gut feeling says two or three weeks should be okay. It seems to work out fine when people buy a mix breeds from our local feed store and they have different hatch dates.

A rubbermaid container can work as long as you keep it dry. I have an article with some further details here: getstartedwithchickens.com/brooder/

I'll check out that link, thank you :)

If there are no windows it might be good to have a white light on a timer. I've also found it useful to take the red lamp out during week 8 so they can get used to the dark. It seems to stress them less when they move to the coop. A new coop is stressful enough without experiencing dark for the first time.

You need to be able to keep them at 95 degrees. If you can keep them warm enough it will be fine.

I have another video on moving a brood into an adult flock. It's not about avoiding sickness and disease as much as carnage through suffocation and attack. Although nearly all of our moves went off without a problem a few went spectacularly wrong. In the worst we lost 17 birds out of 44 overnight. It was a hard lesson.

Hellow ?

We add our orphans at night...they never figure it out...

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