Adding new chicks....

gpeters3 said:

Older hens will kill them. I raised several from eggs and even one of the sisters of the brood hen trapped a baby in the corner and pecked its brains out. I lost 2 that way. Now I have perches at all heights for lesser ones to hop up on to get away. I want to add some chicks in the spring but the only way I've been successful is by separating them until they can outrun the bigger ones and also fly well enough to get up on a perch. I believe keeping them in the coop separated by a cage so the hens can get used to their presence is the best way to do that but i'd like to hear opinions on that strategy.

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I have a few pics of my flock and the new ones I just got from TSC. I now have 9 or 10 breeds, not sure what a couple of them are. Just bought Ausrolorp, black sex link, Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, Americauna (I think, supposed to lay colored eggs, maybe Aurcauna?) and I have grown hens, Isa red, Barred Rock, a black one I don't know the breed and two others I'm not sure of. If I can get some embedded I'll add some pics I just took:





If they all survive I'm going to have to build a bigger coop and add a run. I was ranging them but I lost too many that way so they have to stay locked up. It's a shame but I almost cried when my favorite Isa red disappeared.

When breeding rabbits you always put the female into the buck's cage for safety. Some females will fight and injure the buck. I imagine the same strategy applies to most animals, but there are some hens that just want to bully. I had a Bantam hen that went after every chick I introduced. I had to keep them separate and add high, narrow perches to protect them. I waited until they were full grown before introducing them and then watched them for a while. If she went after them I chased her away til they got the idea to stay away from her. Chickens have no family ties of any sort and they are omnivores so they eat anything. It really is the survival of the fittest here.

gpeters3 said:

Ive lost several young birds because they were introduced too small. I put the brood pen in the coop with the hens so they can get used to them. I dont put the chicks in until they can defend themselves. Best success i had was with a brood hen (natural mom). I kept her in the brood cage with tbe babies and let them out together so mom could protect them. She also kept them warm so i didnt even need a heat lamp. This time i have no mom to take care of them so i built a brood pen with a heat lamp. They are in an unheated coop and they stay huddled under the lamp. Hope they make it. If they survive i will have 7 different breeds.

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Update: I have 10 breeds and here is the brood pen which I will add to shortly to allow them to grow large enough to introduce:

This is the type of info I need. I have 6 hens & 1 roo that were baby chicks I bought last year. I have baby chicks coming early April. They'll be in our house til mid-May or so. Then into the coop with the grown ups. I plan on "penning" the new ones behind chicken wire so everyone can get used to one another, during the day let the grown ups free range and keep the new ones in the chicken yard for a while. BUT, the question is: when to put them all together, i.e. Take the wire down in the coop? Add different height perches etc? Let them free range as an entire flock? I plan on having 8Golden Comets, 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks and 2 Silver Laced Wyandotte's - all hens. The roo is a Golden Comet. Ideas? Suggestions?

Be careful with the roo. I have 3 in the freezer and have no intention to get another one. Mine were very agressive and tore the feathers off the backs of the hens and also attacked my 2 year old grandson. They were not handled as chicks and became dangerous. Now i go to TSC when i need more hens and that way i can add breeds as well. The kids enjoy helping me pick them out.

Yeah. Our roo is +/- aggressive, mostly toward us humans. He's flogged my husband and I "successfully" (roo's point of view!), once. And still tries on occasion. He's rather well behaved with the hens, I will give him that. BUT, if he offers to give this new batch of chicks any trouble ... he'll be history! On the note of new ones, I saw the video of Mama Heating Pad in a separate "room" of the main coop. Think I'm gonna go that direction this year. It makes a lot of sense. I hope. Right now (southern WV), it's pouring snow and my little flock have been happily gathered up under the shed roof taking dust baths no doubt, and now they're picking around under the coop at feed that falls between the floorboards. At this rate I'll have 2 - 3 inches of snow to walk through by the time they get settled in on the roost! (Hard to believe I ever worried about them getting on the roost!).

I had 3 roosters, 2 were x fighting cocks im pretty sure, the other was raised with the hens. I think the damage to the hens may have been competition over the mating rights or something. In any case, the young one became the most agressive and actually struck my granson in the face 3 times before i could intervene. Fortunately he instinctively put his arm up to protect his face and all he got was one cut about 1/2 inch long. All the roosters were imediately caged and subsequently butchered. Hatching our own was fun but not worth the risk. For $2-$3 ill buy chicks and enjoy raising them. The kids get a big kick out of feeding them and collecting the eggs.

We had 3 roosters last year. All the roosters wanted to do was fight with each other and go after the hens. A guy thing. We got rid of 2. The man who took them said all they did was fight. Bottom line, one rooster is plenty unless you want fertile eggs - which don't matter unless you want to incubate/hatch them. Any rooster is going to fight if there's another one around. Ours gets little testosterone bursts periodically and goes after me and my husband. He may be destined for the pot yet!

gpeters3 said:

Older hens will kill them. I raised several from eggs and even one of the sisters of the brood hen trapped a baby in the corner and pecked its brains out. I lost 2 that way. Now I have perches at all heights for lesser ones to hop up on to get away. I want to add some chicks in the spring but the only way I've been successful is by separating them until they can outrun the bigger ones and also fly well enough to get up on a perch. I believe keeping them in the coop separated by a cage so the hens can get used to their presence is the best way to do that but i'd like to hear opinions on that strategy.

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My latest upgrade. Peepers are too many and too big now for peeper feeders. Unfortunately they don't come with handles from which I can hang them so I upgraded. This is how I do all my feeder/waterers to keep them clean. I just keep adjusting the height to the size of the birds by bending the wire. I won't attempt to let any of them out until it gets too crowded in there and then I think they will still be separated from the hens.

Talk about complicating things, i just bought 2 turkeyx to add to my flock. Ive been told that they get along well with chickens and my wife wanted to try some so i gave in. Looked at the predator thread and it seems that turkeys may or may not help protect the flock. Guess ill find out, eh? Anyway, now i get to merge my 5 adult hens with 13 new chicks and 2 turkey chicks. Cant wait