Chicks and chickens

[TheDisease21002]

I just placed two young roosters who are both roughly 7-8 weeks old in a chicken coop with chickens that are 15 weeks+. They have one rooster. One I placed them in the rooster attacked them and they hid in nesting boxes. It's was night time when I did that. Is there anything I should be concerned about. This is the first time I've done this and one of my landlords chicks head was eaten alive when it was placed in a group of pullets. Should I also be worried

 

[DobieLover]

I just placed two young roosters who are both roughly 7-8 weeks old in a chicken coop with chickens that are 15 weeks+. They have one rooster. One I placed them in the rooster attacked them and they hid in nesting boxes. It's was night time when I did that. Is there anything I should be concerned about. This is the first time I've done this and one of my landlords chicks head was eaten alive when it was placed in a group of pullets. Should I also be worried

Yes, you should be worried.
The chicks need a proper introduction to the existing flock. That means they should be kept in a look don't touch setup with their own food and water for several weeks so everyone can get to know each other.
The first co-mingling should be done in as large a space (free range) as possible with plenty of places for the youngsters to get out of the line of sight of the older birds.
Take your time and the integration will go much better.
How many pullets do you have in the 15+ week old group with the rooster? Is he the same age as the 15+ week old pullets?
How much space is in the coop and run?

 

[Chickenaddition]

That's a pretty big age difference at that point. The 2 7-8 week roosters are much smaller than the 15 week rooster. I would suggest keeping them separate for a bit to allow them to catch up.

 

[Kelliejanine]

Chickens need to be introduced to each other slowly over time. Also cockerels will fight with each other especially if there’s not enough hens. Generally there needs to be 8-10 hens per rooster. I have 2 cockerels about 5 months and a cockerel about 7 weeks and I already know I need to rehome him because we do not have enough hens. The other two pullets I have are 6 weeks and everyday I place them outside in a corral area that the other chickens can not get to them in but they can see each other. This way when the chicks are old enough to be moved outside the tension will be minimized.

 

[TheDisease21002]

Yes, you should be worried.
The chicks need a proper introduction to the existing flock. That means they should be kept in a look don't touch setup with their own food and water for several weeks so everyone can get to know each other.
The first co-mingling should be done in as large a space (free range) as possible with plenty of places for the youngsters to get out of the line of sight of the older birds.
Take your time and the integration will go much better.
How many pullets do you have in the 15+ week old group with the rooster? Is he the same age as the 15+ week old pullets?
How much space is in the coop and run?

The coop is 8 by 4 feet and there are 8 chickens other than the chicks, the chickens also do get let outside in the day. The rooster is actually the youngest amongst them. There are 5 pullets, 2 layers and 1 rooster other than the chicks

 

[DobieLover]

Just a matter of semantics and understanding the ages of the birds being discussed: If they are all under a year old, they are all pullets or cockerels. They become hens and roosters after a year old.
May I ask why you are trying to introduce two young cockerels to such a small number of pullets who already have a cockerel in the flock? I fear you may be in for an awful lot of trouble trying to do this.

 

[TheDisease21002]

Just a matter of semantics and understanding the ages of the birds being discussed: If they are all under a year old, they are all pullets or cockerels. They become hens and roosters after a year old.
May I ask why you are trying to introduce two young cockerels to such a small number of pullets who already have a cockerel in the flock? I fear you may be in for an awful lot of trouble trying to do this.

I was moving these chicks to the big coop as they were fully feathered and didn't need a heat lamp anymore. It appears that I'll have to introduce a middle stage where the chicks can stay until they've grown a little more.

 

[aart]

It appears that I'll have to introduce a middle stage where the chicks can stay until they've grown a little more.

Well, you can introduce chicks when young, works better IMO, but you need to have the set up to do so.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

I still follow the ......
Integration Basics:

It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

This used to be a better search, new format has reduced it's efficacy, but still:
Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading, BUT some info is outdated IMO:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[Mrs. K]

Unless you have nearly 50 pullets, I think you have way too many roosters. If you totally free range - maybe, but if you are in a coop/run set up, this is more likely going to go badly than rightly.

MK

 

[TheDisease21002]

Unless you have nearly 50 pullets, I think you have way too many roosters. If you totally free range - maybe, but if you are in a coop/run set up, this is more likely going to go badly than rightly.

MK

I have one rooster who is about 15 weeks old. All my other birds are hens or pullet. Other than the rooster there are about 8 grown chickens.