Chicks in the Run

The chicks were getting too big to contain in there little 3 foot by 6 foot area.  It was time to let them into the larger area that the hens control.  We did not feel comfortable mixing the two flocks yet, so Mike limited the hens to their coop area and one dog run.  He did this by putting up chicken wire to block their access to the second dog run.  They did not get mad but they were not please to having their usual pecking area restricted.  

Then Mike cut a hole between the little chick's space and the larger run.  

The chicks fearlessly checked out their larger space.  

They even went so far as to check out the old chicken house we had in that run.  The hens do not use it except as a play area.  Since these little guys are so creative at finding the wrong places to sleep at night, Mike and I decided that we should eliminate this play area.  So Mike enclosed it with chicken wire once the chicks moved on with their exploring.  

This change for the little chicks went seamlessly.  They love to play in the new area.   It also allows Mike to feed and water the chicks in a bigger space so the coop does not get quite as dirty.  The hens are getting used to 'sharing' their space too so maybe when we allow these two groups to mingle that transition will go smoothly as well.