Baby chicks! What did you get this year/hatching?

[CrystalAnon]

I just picked up 3 Black Sex Links and 3 Barred Plymouth Rocks. First time with either of these breeds. I got 5 Ameraucanas and 5 Rhode Island Reds last year.

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Beautiful babies!!
How do you plan on integrating them with the rest?
We have 11, 17 week old pullets/cockerels. We ended up with 3 Roos out of 5 straight-run chicks, Planning on culling two of the big ones next week, mostly because we’re worried they’ll hurt our small hens, now that they’re about to start laying eggs, and the Roos are trying to mate with them now. Plus we’d like to learn how to process chickens for the experience, in case the unthinkable happened & one of our gals was injured too badly. I feel terrible for the smaller hens with the large Roos attempting mating with them. I guess that’s the issue with getting different breeds.
Point is, we’re thinking we might want to replace the Roos we cull next week for more chicks next spring, so we get back up to 10 or more hens.
So I’m wondering how you’re planning on introducing the newbies. Do you have multiple coops?
LWe only have one that’s suitable for Florida weather.

 

[JerseyMike]

Beautiful babies!!
How do you plan on integrating them with the rest?
We have 11, 17 week old pullets/cockerels. We ended up with 3 Roos out of 5 straight-run chicks, Planning on culling two of the big ones next week, mostly because we’re worried they’ll hurt our small hens, now that they’re about to start laying eggs, and the Roos are trying to mate with them now. Plus we’d like to learn how to process chickens for the experience, in case the unthinkable happened & one of our gals was injured too badly. I feel terrible for the smaller hens with the large Roos attempting mating with them. I guess that’s the issue with getting different breeds.
Point is, we’re thinking we might want to replace the Roos we cull next week for more chicks next spring, so we get back up to 10 or more hens.
So I’m wondering how you’re planning on introducing the newbies. Do you have multiple coops?
LWe only have one that’s suitable for Florida weather.

My situation is probably a little different since I don't have any roosters yet.

That being said, I have merged the flocks. I built a small mobile cage for the little ones. Every day I would roll them out and place them next to the run so the others can see them. Some days I let the big girls out to get a closer look. After a couple of weeks of this, I released the young ladies into the run on a day where I could monitor the interactions.

I spent a couple of hours hanging out by the run with a gallon of water and a small cup (maybe 1/8th of a cup). Every time one of them would peck at one of the new ones, she would get a face full of water. I figured if it works on cats, why not hens? When I go out to take them table scraps or treats, I bring some water with me.

I put a cardboard box in the run because the little ones didn't want to spend the night in the coop right away. After a few days, they started wandering in and spending the night inside.

The two groups still aren't thrilled with the other's presence, but it's getting better. The littler ones are good at hit and run tactics for grabbing food. They mingle with the EEs pretty well (except for the queen).

When I go into the run, the new ones gather around me. I think they see me as their protector. I make sure they get their share of the table scraps. I also throw handfuls of clover into the run in different locations. This forces the established ones and the new ones to spread out. If I put it all in one place the bigger ones try to guard the pile.

I don't know if that helps, but it seems to be working for me so far.