Baby chickens get a new home!
Video is below.
We moved our 45 newest layer pullets from the brooder to their first spot in a moveable chicken tractor when they were 5 weeks old. We have 3 chicken tractors we have built- they are moveable, floor-less enclosures that keep the chickens safe from predators and able to scratch the ground and eat grass and insects. We’ll keep them in this tractor, and move it every few days to fresh ground. While they’re still tiny, we actually use two tractors- we move them one by one to the second tractor, which is on fresh pasture. Then, we move the first onto fresh ground, and move them back to that one a few days later.
After they’re about 8 weeks old, we’re able to move the tractor with the chickens in it without any injuries. At this point, we’ll move their tractor inside the big chicken’s enclosure. They’ll stay in the tractor for another week or so, so they can all get to know one another safely. Then, the little chickens will come out for longer periods during the day, but go back in their tractor at night.
The final transition usually comes a week or two later. We’ll come out at dusk one night, and all the chickens, big and little, have put themselves in the coop, ready to be tucked in. The littles just decide one night to follow the big chickens in for bedtime. Usually, they are all in the coop together (at night) when the little ones are between 14-16 weeks old. All of this extra work is to make sure we have minimal issues transitioning 45 little pullets in with double that many full grown chickens.
We keep chickens on pasture for three reasons. The first is a happier, healthier chicken. Scratching for bugs, chomping weeds, and running about enjoying life are the things that make a chicken a chicken. The second reason is more flavorful, nutrient-dense eggs. The third reason is to allow the chickens to fertilize and perform pest control for our crops. This enables us to grow things without spraying, because the chickens scratch up and eat the over-wintering bugs that would break forth in the spring and eat our crops. The chickens also do a much better job weeding than we do. All in all, if you don’t have a chicken, you have to do the work of the chicken.
Read more about why we pasture our chickens here