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introducing chick to flock

post #1 of 4
8/10/12 at 7:50am
Thread Starter 

I have a silkie that hatched 6 weeks ago. Silkie is fine with the other chickens (mom & 2 others) during the day while inside the pen or roaming around the yard. When i shut them in for the night the one rhode island red i have attacks the silkie, almost as soon as i shut the door. I had up to 8 chickens in this coop at once so i know space isn't an issue. Any idea why they are fine together except when i shut the door? Any way to put a stop to this and keep them in the same coop?

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post #2 of 4
8/11/12 at 7:04am

I have exactly the same problem at the moment. I have 10 little ones sharing the coop with 20 big ones. The bigger chickens are not keen on sharing their roost space with the little ones, so what I do is go in when it's nearly dark and physically rearrange the chickens on the roosts, so the little ones are by themselves. Then I close the door, making it dark in there to discourage them moving around.

 

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked ~ Bernard Meltzer

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A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked ~ Bernard Meltzer

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post #3 of 4
8/11/12 at 7:13am
I keep a barrier between the two for and start integrating at 4-12 weeks depending their feather growth. I was using a wire dog kennel, but it was too big and I need a smaller one. I put them in a plastic kennel and most of the time. When my big girls are done laying, they get to free range. So far my babies(2-3 months) have not left the run. My 3 month old hatched in April is the size of a 6-8 week old. She is not growing, but is thriving well. She had hatching issues that I believed stunted her growth. Luckily she can hold her own and is feisty. The longer I keep them behind bars inside the coop, the easier it is to integrate. Once the other 2 babies are all the same size, I'll put them on the roost. They still have 4 weeks of growing.
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post #4 of 4
8/11/12 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 

maybe i will try to rearange them in the dark, that sounds like a good idea. I need to try to figure out how to integrate this one silkie into the flock soon. I go down at dusk to shut their door and the 3 older chickens are already roosting but the silkie doesn't dare go into the coop, she stays outside, even in the rain. Once i put the silkie in the coop the rhode island red jumps down and attacks it. I end up puting the silkie and its mom in a different coop for the night, just to seperate them. I am going to need the other coop soon because i have 10 chicks that are about 2 weeks old that will be occupying the 2nd coop.

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