Baby chicks not babies anymore

Our baby chicks are growing up.  They don't fit in their tub anymore so we have moved them into a rabbit cage.  We only use the rabbit cage at night.  We put them in it and then place the cage on the floor of the big coop while the older eight chickens sleep on the roosts over their heads.

Older chickens separated from the big coop for the
safety of the little chicks who are in
contained in the big coop.  

During the day, Mike has been locking the bigger and older chickens in the run and giving the babies the use of the big coop and its attached run.  We noticed they were spending a lot of time inside the coop which is hot during the day and often the little run was in full sun also.  So we decided to make some adjustments.

Each day Mike was finding more and more
of the little babies resting on a high ledge.
Looking for a place to roost is a sign
of growing up.  

Each morning, Mike now moves the babies in their rabbit cage into the chicken run that has a small coop within it.  It also has a partial shade cover so it should be more comfortable for them.  The bigger chickens get the big coop, its attached run and another run.  

Baby chicks exploring the feed pan in what was for
them a new run.  Mike says they were pretty
cautious at first.  

We had been hesitant to move the little ones over to this 10 foot run because it was going to be harder to catch them and get them back in the rabbit cage.  Turned out that was not a problem.  At night they all gather together on top of the little chicken coop.  Mike just has to pick them up one by one and put them in the cage and return it to the inside of the big coop.

All six baby chicks sitting on top of the little
coop preparing for bed.  

This move has brought us one step closer to mixing the two groups of chickens.  They get to see each other every day with only a chain link fence separating them.  Sometime soon they will be mature enough for us to remove even that.