Flock Integration and space...how old is old enough?

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2 days ago, early, I needed to move 12 4-week-olds out of my brooder, they had no other place to go than my youngun's run, which had cockerels and pullets that were just over 11 week-old. So, I did;

  1. 7 Pullets into the main flock, yup, they could get killed by the 23-week layers or the 3-yr-old layers, or the 2-yr-old roo
  2. Built an outdoor run, fenced, covered, but new space with greens on the ground, for the youngun's.
  3. Built a hide for the 4 week-olds
  4. Put new additional feeders in, such that 4 week-olds could eat from the hide.

Well, today the cockerels are mingling just fine with the 4 weeks olds, and the 11 week pullets are integrated into the laying flock. I have tried this before with smaller quantities, and they all got killed. This is attempt #1 with quantity, but right now, it looks to me, if you put enough at one time no one bird gets picked on to death.
 
So I've just integrated 6 14 week old pullets in with my main coop - they're doing well - sticking together like 8th graders at a high school dance, but it's working for them as no-one is picking on them. Usually, I let this coop free range during the day and lock them into their run & coop at night - well, to be honest, I close the door when they put themselves to bed...very nice! :) Anyway, my plan was to keep everyone "cooped" up for a couple of days before letting them range, as the new pullets have never ranged and don't have ties to this coop yet. Does that sound like a good plan? Does anyone do anything different?
 
In my experience they only need a good night or afternoon in the coop to know where their home is. I just recently did the exact same thing, at first they stay close to the coop. This is day four for them all free ranging and they have learned from the older birds to head back at dusk...
 
I have a pre-existing flock of 1 year old hens (1 Barred Rock, 1 Black Australorp, 1 Silver-laced Wyandotte, 1 Buff Orpington, & 2 Red Stars. My mom gave me 1 Ameraucana & 1 Barred Rock that were both about 12 weeks old about 1.5 months ago. I tried integrating them into my pre-existing flock after a fews days of obtaining them. Placed them in a wire crate in the run for the first couple of days, then placed them in the coop at dark after a few days. This didn't go well, the two pullets had blood on their combs the next morning, therefore, I immediately removed them from the flock for their safety. I figured out it was my 2 Redstars that were the aggressors towards them. I have a large yard & my chickens free range primarily, have tried to let the 2 new ones integrate with the others in the yard but the Redstars continue to peck at both of the newbies. I have part of the yard separated so that the newbies can see the others through a small picket fence but thay cant integrate with flock. Therefore, I decided to add on to the existing coop so the newbies have their own coop space. Does anyone think its possible that I could try & reintegrate my newbies again or should I just give it up? Thank you :)
 
brandg said:
I have a pre-existing flock of 1 year old hens (1 Barred Rock, 1 Black Australorp, 1 Silver-laced Wyandotte, 1 Buff Orpington, & 2 Red Stars. My mom gave me 1 Ameraucana & 1 Barred Rock that were both about 12 weeks old about 1.5 months ago. I tried integrating them into my pre-existing flock after a fews days of obtaining them. Placed them in a wire crate in the run for the first couple of days, then placed them in the coop at dark after a few days. This didn't go well, the two pullets had blood on their combs the next morning, therefore, I immediately removed them from the flock for their safety. I figured out it was my 2 Redstars that were the aggressors towards them. I have a large yard & my chickens free range primarily, have tried to let the 2 new ones integrate with the others in the yard but the Redstars continue to peck at both of the newbies. I have part of the yard separated so that the newbies can see the others through a small picket fence but thay cant integrate with flock. Therefore, I decided to add on to the existing coop so the newbies have their own coop space. Does anyone think its possible that I could try & reintegrate my newbies again or should I just give it up? Thank you
Click to expand...
Hi there - for starters you need to quarantine all new birds for at least 14 days to ensure they don't have any diseases your existing flock could succumb to. It really doesn't matter where they came from.
You will be able to integrate - but it needs to be done slowly. The 'can see but no touch' method you have now is perfect. This needs to continue for a week or so. I have always introduced new birds at roosting time. They usually don't start anything at night. The next morning, make sure you are up in time to let the birds out altogether. If you can isolate the bullies - put them in the 'time out' cage for a couple of days. This will re-arrange their status in the pecking order. Fingers crossed!
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All the chickens can have grower, it doesn`t hurt them. Plus, if you have a rooster, it`s good for him, because if you`re giving them layer food, it has nothing in it for him. It takes time to introduce them, maybe two weeks, perhaps three sometimes. But we careful, if you do have any roosters right now, because they know before you when the chick isn`t a hen, and that doesn`t go too well.
 
Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it! I am already pushing the coop space for square footage with a 4' X 4' coop with 6 birds so for the 2 newbies, I'm making the area underneath the coop thats 4' X 4' as a separate coop to decrease potential issues with overcrowding.
 

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