Brooding new chicks in the coop...what problems will I face?

[MoonShadows]

I haven't bought new chicks in a few years. My flock is down to10. They have an 80 sq ft coop with a 160 sq ft run and are allowed to free range on a few acres almost every day unless the weather is dreadful. I have ordered 15 new chicks. I plan to make a brooding section under the poop board in the coop. The poop board is about 3.5 feet off the ground and the square footage underneath is more than enough room for a brooding area. In fact, I may only use a portion of this area. My thoughts are the chicks will be in close proximity to the established hens as they mature. What problems might I encounter during their maturation? And, when they are ready to leave the brooder, what problems might I encounter then? My thoughts are they should all be pretty used to each other by the time I am ready to physically mix them together, but I want to hear what others have to say who may have tried this. Thanks.

 

[bobbi-j]

Do a search on users "azygous" and "aart". They integrate much earlier than 10 weeks and have a good system for doing it. I plan on trying their methods this year when I replenish my flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What you plan to do is really close to what I do, even to the point that the top of my 3’x6’ brooder is my droppings board. I’ll enclose a photo. I use heat lamps but the heating pad cave is real popular with many people right now. Others use emitters or something else as a heat source. I put chicks in there when the temperatures are below freezing (have some eggs in the incubator right now) or in the heat of summer. In the winter I really wrap this well, in the heat of the summer it’s more wide open. There are lots of different way to do this.

What you are trying to achieve is to provide one spot that is warm enough, but let the rest cool down as it will. Even straight out of the incubator my chicks are really good at self-regulating temperature if given a choice. And they will play in pretty cold areas with no problems as long as they have a warm place to go to. That’s how a broody hen operates. She does not heat the entire universe, just gives them a place to warm up when they need it.

One of your issues brooding outside is that the temperature varies, sometimes a lot. It’s practically impossible to keep the entire brooder one perfect temperature, which by the way does not exist. Just like people, some chicks prefer it warmer, some cooler, but they can operate in a range of temperatures. By providing a spot warm enough in the coolest temperatures and a spot cool enough in the warmest temperatures they will take care of this.

If you are brooding when temperatures are below freezing, you need a way to keep water thawed. I just put my water in the warm zone. Others may use heated waterers or some other method. Or just wait until the danger of freezing is past.

I also have concerns about how much room you have. To me, the most important part of integration is providing them plenty of room. The chicks need to be able to get away from the adults. Until they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order (usually around the time pullets start to lay for my pullets. It’s hard to generalize for cockerels) the chicks pretty much form a sub-flock and just avoid the adults. If yours can free range they should be OK, but don’t leave them locked in that coop together in the morning after they wake up until you are confident they will be OK.

I do mine two ways. Often for my own reasons I put them in my grow-out coop at about 5 weeks and at 8 weeks open it up for them to roam with the flock. They will then put themselves to bed in that grow-out coop. But sometimes I just open the brooder door at 5 weeks and let them mingle with the flock. I have an 8’ x 12’ coop, a 12’ x 32’ main run, a 4’ x 8’ grow-out coop with run, and about 45’ x 90’ inside electric netting. Mine don’t free range but I have a lot of room. I have never lost a chick to another adult chicken doing it this way.

Cafarmgirl, have you ever seen a 10 week old chick stand up to and fight an adult? I never have, mine always run away. My pullets won’t do that until they are pretty mature, usually when they start to lay. Who can say about cockerels? I’ve had some scuffle hens at 4 months, some running from hens at 11 months. I’m not trying to criticize your choice of 10 weeks, it obviously works for you and is best for you. I’ve just never seen a 10 week old chicks stand up to adults. A lot of people quote 16 weeks. I’ve never seen a pullet stand up to a hen at 16 weeks either. I do think the less room you have the older they should be when you integrate.

Some of the things that I think help integration go smoother regardless of age difference are to house the chickens where they can see each other and get use to each other without getting to each other, give them as much room as you possibly can, give them safe havens (Azygous has a good one, but roosts high enough that the young ones can go up there out of reach of the adults or places to get out of line if sight are also helpful), provide multiple feed and water stations so they can eat and drink without challenging the adults, and don’t force them together. Let them manage how close they want to be to each other. When they mature enough they’ll merge into one flock.

A lot of times these integrations go so smoothly you wonder what all the worry and fuss was about, even when you don’t do everything “right”. But occasionally you can have disasters. Doing these things will help improve your odds of success but with living animals you don’t get guarantees, one way or the other. And we all have different experiences. What works for me might not work for someone else. We are all unique, with our own set-ups, goals, and management techniques.

Good luck!

 

[cafarmgirl]

It's usually best to integrate new youngsters into the flock when they are about 10 weeks old and close in size to the older birds. At that age they are more able to get away and/or defend themselves against the inevitable pecking order scuffles that are going to occur. Very young birds can get into trouble very quickly, even be killed by older birds if things get out of hand.

The other issue I'm seeing here is that you are pretty short on coop/run space for 25 birds. It will help that they are out sometimes but they still have to go to roost at night and fights often break out there even in the best of situations. Crowding will make potential problems worse and will make integration of new birds that much harder.

 

[BoomChickaPop]

Thanks carfarmgirl. I know I am a little short on coop space, but by May, when the chicks arrive....and if I don't let them into the "general population" until they are 10 weeks old (July),they will have about 3-4 acres to free range from Spring until first snow fall. Do you still think this may be a problem? I do know there will be pecking order issues in the coop and on the roost (3.2 sq ft per bird); that is inevitable even no matter how much space they have.

They should be fine and happy to have 3-4 acres to roam.
I agree with carfarmgirl it will be fine for them to be put with the rest of the flock at about 10 weeks.

 

[aart]

Actually @azygous has a much better system and more experience with this than I do, take a look at their setup here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1069595/introducing-chicks-to-adults#post_16276224

Tho I have used the 'small door chick respite' to integrate 2 different aged chick groups and it works very well.

 

[Blooie]

My chicks are fully integrated into the flock by 4-5 weeks....







This article might help you.. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

I will be adding @azygous portal system this year. In the past I just wired one side of the brooder pen open so it was big enough to let the Littles and Tinys in but too small for the Bigs to follow.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I consider chicks from a hatchery as safe as the ones I hatch myself. That does not mean there is absolutely zero risk with hatchery chicks or my chicks, but with their biosecurity practices it’s something I don’t worry about.

Of course it is possible that your adults may have something that they could give to the chicks. It’s even likely for a lot of us, considering coccidiosis. My adults have at least one strain of coccidiosis. But your chicks are going to be exposed to that at some point in the future anyway. They are normally much better equipped to work on their immunities as chicks than when they are older. Besides it is easier for me to observe them while they are in the brooder than when they are out foraging. If I need to intervene it’s easier. I never have, but it would be easier with my set-up.

I don’t cut a piece of turf and give it to them. Nothing wrong with that but I scoop up some dirt from the run that the adults have probably recently pooped in and feed that to the chicks. That gets grit in their system. That gets any probiotics the adults have into their system. And that enables them to start developing any flock immunities they need to develop. I much prefer to them building up a strong immune system instead of trying to raise them in a sterile environment. If you raise them in a sterile environment they are totally unprepared when they are exposed later.

Blooie, the only time I ever had an issue was not with brooder chicks but with chicks being raised by a broody hen. It set in wet and I did not keep the water changed. That’s how I know I have at least one strain of cocci in my flock. That was my fault. If I’d kept the water changed as I knew I should they’d have never had a problem.

 

[Skyfeathers]

My daughter, sister-in-law, and I each have backyard flocks, and have hatched with incubators and broody hens or bought chicks at Tractor Supply. We have noticed a definite difference in the health of our chicks, depending on where they are brooded. Those that are brooded outside in a partitioned area in the main coop and run are very healthy compared to those brooded in the house, and being in constant contact with the older hens through the hardware cloth greatly reduces the fighting and bullying. When integrating them we make sure there are escape hatches for the little ones, and plenty of perches, feeders, and waterers available. Breed seems to make a difference, too, I've noticed my leghorns are more skittish and get bullied more than some others, and my olive eggers are real big bullies. Their personalities have a lot do do with how they are treated by the others. I've noticed some of my milder mannered hens are never bothered, while others are chased mercilessly. Then I have a few hens that are bullied, then bully others in turn. Henhouse politics! I finally split the run and put my older and mild mannered or skittish ones in their own section and it's so much quieter out there now!

You can see Marigold looking over my pullets. She's like a Victorian matriarch that never gets ruffled, is never picked on, but also never picks on anyone.
Good luck with your chicks, you've come to the right place for information! I don't post often, but have read tons of threads on here and have learned so much!. They have provided me much information, guidance, and laughter, and comfort when things did not turn out well.

 

[BoomChickaPop]

Chicks are ready to leave their brooder at about 4 weeks
Just make sure the chicks won't get out into the mature hens pen cause they might hurt the chick
Can you post a picture of your setup?