Getting babies to sleep in main coop

[ChickenMamaC]

Hello. I have three 14-week old pullets who are pretty much integrated into my flock of six 2-yo hens EXCEPT for at night. They tried to join them for a few days, but my lowest-ranking hen was bullying them. Now I go down every evening to find them roosting on top of their baby coop so I reluctantly guide them into that coop to sleep so they will at least be safe.
Someone suggested we add a new roosting bar, so we did, but now my biggers hens just squabble over who gets to use it.

Any suggestions? Two are good sized but one is a silver spangled Hamburg so she is very tiny compared to the rest of the flock.

 

[drinkoj]

That's pretty much what I've done with my much younger chicks by adding additional bars and ventilation holes at another end of the coop. I just started throwing the young chicks inside the coop and locking it up for the night. After a week or so, one of the started going in by herself and she now roosts with the older birds. Now the three other younglings, they love the outside run high roosting bar and I'm having to toss them in every night (going on 2 weeks now). Read this is pretty much what you do or lock them in the coop for a few days or a week to teach them it's there home (don't like that idea)

 

[ChickenMamaC]

That's pretty much what I've done with my much younger chicks by adding additional bars and ventilation holes at another end of the coop. I just started throwing the young chicks inside the coop and locking it up for the night. After a week or so, one of the started going in by herself and she now roosts with the older birds. Now the three other younglings, they love the outside run high roosting bar and I'm having to toss them in every night (going on 2 weeks now). Read this is pretty much what you do or lock them in the coop for a few days or a week to teach them it's there home (don't like that idea)

I'm so worried about them getting beat up by the big girls!

 

[Silkiechicken66]

Hello. I have three 14-week old pullets who are pretty much integrated into my flock of six 2-yo hens EXCEPT for at night. They tried to join them for a few days, but my lowest-ranking hen was bullying them. Now I go down every evening to find them roosting on top of their baby coop so I reluctantly guide them into that coop to sleep so they will at least be safe.
Someone suggested we add a new roosting bar, so we did, but now my biggers hens just squabble over who gets to use it.

Any suggestions? Two are good sized but one is a silver spangled Hamburg so she is very tiny compared to the rest of the flock.

I would just make sure there is plenty of space for them to all roost, and keep locking them in every night. Any new chickens I get I have to chase down wherever they went to sleep and put them in the shed. Eventually they should get the idea. I had one hen who would always kick out any newcomers and never let them sleep in with the flock. I discovered if I put them in after she had settled down to sleep, there wasn’t as much of an issue.

 

[drinkoj]

I'm so worried about them getting beat up by the big girls!

There was some pecking that happened with mine but they sorted it out pretty quickly, as everyone is tired and wants to sleep so they figure out the pecking order and find where to sleep accordingly.

 

[drinkoj]

I discovered if I put them in after she had settled down to sleep, there wasn’t as much of an issue.

Exactly! I think that's what I did by accident. My older chickens go in the coop around 8:45 pm and I wait until 9:15 pm to put my younglings into the coop, where everyone is settled in. Now I do have two high roost bars about 4 feet high and then a young chick bar about 1.5 foot high. It's a mixed bag on where the younglings roost.

 

[ChickenMamaC]

I would just make sure there is plenty of space for them to all roost, and keep locking them in every night. Any new chickens I get I have to chase down wherever they went to sleep and put them in the shed. Eventually they should get the idea. I had one hen who would always kick out any newcomers and never let them sleep in with the flock. I discovered if I put them in after she had settled down to sleep, there wasn’t as much of an issue.

Does 14 weeks seem good?

 

[Silkiechicken66]

Does 14 weeks seem good?

To integrate?