Integrating young pullets with mature hens - what's the best age?

[aart]

It's normal and any given evening I can hear my flock going through the same sounds...flapping, squawking, thumping and bumping as the young birds forget their place on the roosts and the older gals remind them. It's no big deal and no one will wind up dead.

Just as long as you have plenty of space, roosting at different levels so the young birds can actually roost at night without having to get on the same roost as the older birds, they will all settle in just fine. There will always be nighttime squabbles....I don't know that I've ever heard an evening coop that was all quiet and peaceful, no matter the ages, breeds or sex of the birds in the coop.

Indeed.
I call it the Roost Time Rumble...can be rather raucous, even with birds that have lived together for months and months.

 

[Tulsaoldhen]

Thank you so much for your comments/advice!

Your mention of having plenty of space struck a cord that I'm dealing with now.
As a newbie, I guess I didn't realize how big my large breed pullets would get. Introducing this one adult hen is letting me see that my coop is WAY too small. I'm disappointed that sellers of coop kits give larger-than-realistic statements on how many chickens a coop will hold. Mine was stated as being for 4-6 hens. I'll be lucky if 2 adult hens are comfortable in the space. So I've ordered a 2nd matching coop and intend to do some remodeling to join the 2 and then have comfortable sleeping space for all the girls.

 

[Spartan22]

Thank you so much for your comments/advice!

Your mention of having plenty of space struck a cord that I'm dealing with now.
As a newbie, I guess I didn't realize how big my large breed pullets would get. Introducing this one adult hen is letting me see that my coop is WAY too small. I'm disappointed that sellers of coop kits give larger-than-realistic statements on how many chickens a coop will hold. Mine was stated as being for 4-6 hens. I'll be lucky if 2 adult hens are comfortable in the space. So I've ordered a 2nd matching coop and intend to do some remodeling to join the 2 and then have comfortable sleeping space for all the girls.

I was so glad I didn't fall to buying those coops, I had ordered them and didn't feel right about it, so I cancelled and designed and built my own coop. Didn't know down the road I will integrate and expand my flocks 3-4 times within 2 years other wise I would had been back to day one (drawing board).

 

[Beekissed]

Thank you so much for your comments/advice!

Your mention of having plenty of space struck a cord that I'm dealing with now.
As a newbie, I guess I didn't realize how big my large breed pullets would get. Introducing this one adult hen is letting me see that my coop is WAY too small. I'm disappointed that sellers of coop kits give larger-than-realistic statements on how many chickens a coop will hold. Mine was stated as being for 4-6 hens. I'll be lucky if 2 adult hens are comfortable in the space. So I've ordered a 2nd matching coop and intend to do some remodeling to join the 2 and then have comfortable sleeping space for all the girls.

I hate it when they lie like that too....really irks me because there are a lot of folks out there buying overpriced and tiny coops thinking they can put a small flock of chickens in there...it's just impossible. Makes me want to go kick someone really hard in the shins and slap them upside the head for good measure...they are just lying to folks out of sheer greed. For the price of the cheapest of those dollhouse coops I built an 8x10 cattle panel hoop coop...by myself...in 10 days time..and that wasn't even 10 full days!

Then, two years back I added another hoop to it to turn it into a 12x10 coop, then built in the ends, with a total cost of approx. $300. Think about how many chickens can reside in that big of a coop.

Think about how much folks are being overcharged for those little broody pens and how large of a coop they could have if they just wanted to spend a little time building one. If a fat old, crippled up woman like me can build a chicken coop, anyone can!

I wouldn't give those cheaters another dime, if I were you, and I'd just keep that little coop for a broody pen or sell it and use the money to build a real coop you can walk into and feel good about. Winter is coming and it's the worst time ever for chickens in small coops.

 

[lazy gardener]

I hate it when they lie like that too....really irks me because there are a lot of folks out there buying overpriced and tiny coops thinking they can put a small flock of chickens in there...it's just impossible. Makes me want to go kick someone really hard in the shins and slap them upside the head for good measure...they are just lying to folks out of sheer greed. For the price of the cheapest of those dollhouse coops I built an 8x10 cattle panel hoop coop...by myself...in 10 days time..and that wasn't even 10 full days!

Then, two years back I added another hoop to it to turn it into a 12x10 coop, then built in the ends, with a total cost of approx. $300. Think about how many chickens can reside in that big of a coop.

Think about how much folks are being overcharged for those little broody pens and how large of a coop they could have if they just wanted to spend a little time building one. If a fat old, crippled up woman like me can build a chicken coop, anyone can!

I wouldn't give those cheaters another dime, if I were you, and I'd just keep that little coop for a broody pen or sell it and use the money to build a real coop you can walk into and feel good about. Winter is coming and it's the worst time ever for chickens in small coops.

Bee, I highlighted a lot of your words, b/c they resonate with truth and sound reasoning. I also built my first coop, and my first and second tractor, and a green house. All this from an old biddy who is hobbling by the end of each day. When I take nightly inventory of painful body parts, it's often much quicker to verbalize it by stating what doesn't hurt! Hubby and I built the final coop together, and that was a massive undertaking, for the most part b/c he's more of a perfectionist than I am. ANYONE can pick up a good "building for idiots" book and put together a stick built coop. Any one can research on line and build either stick built or hoop coop for a fraction of the cost of those doll houses. I cringe when I think about any birds going through a Maine winter without enough space to allow adequate ventilation without being in the midst of a draft, and allow enough space to tough out a winter storm without killing each other.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Hello all! I'm not sure if this should be in this forum. Let me start by saying that I can spy on my chickens with cameras.

I had eggs under a broody inside my coop. The first chick hatched, and the problem was that the little pullet kept falling out of the nest box. I finally gave up and moved the remaining 3 eggs and the chick to our tiny original coop which is in the predator proof run. Inside the larger coop, none of the hens was bothering the chick, but I wasn't comfortable about leaving her in there.

I put a barrier in the doorway of the small coop to keep the chick in because she is an escape artist and the broody doesn't seem able to get her back inside... first clutch. I've run out about 4 times in the last hour to scoop the chicklet up and return her to the small coop.

Here is the fascinating part. Jessica. the hen. is not as protective as my previous broody who is a Buff Orpington. Jessica is following her chick around, but doesn't attack the hens or even the 2 roosters when they are near the chick. The chick just roams around chirping loudly!

I have put a piece of screening in the doorway of the small coop only because the remaining eggs are chirping loudly and I am concerned that they will become cold (we've gone to below 50 degree nights in the space of 2 weeks!) I think that once they are hatched I will be more relaxed.

I have a feeling that integrating this clutch is going to be the easiest blending that I've ever seen!

 

[Choctawrabbits]

I'm curious...
I have 5 Wyandotte hens born in April that live with 3 Wyandotte roosters of the same age. I just recently bought 10 buff Orpington that are now approx. 5-6 wks old. I have kept them separate in a hutch off the ground but in the same living quarters. I'm not too concerned about the hens but I am about the roosters as they are pretty aggressive. I also have 4 Cayuga ducks and a Talouse Goose that bed down in the same barn. How should I go about integrating these chicks with everyone?

 

[lazy gardener]

Try supervised free range and see how they do. A mature roo who is a decent roo will take good care of his chicks (any chicks in HIS flock) and will not try to breed the pullets until they are sexually mature. However, all bets are off with cockrels. They really don't have a brain at this age, instead are driven by huge doses of testosterone. I've seen cockrels turn their amorous attentions to a coffee can. And given their nature of ganging up on weaker flock members, they may harass the chicks. Try it and see what happens. In your situation, I might segregate the cockrels from the flock and integrate the chicks.

 

[Raggedyroad]

Having tried it both ways, I've found that it works best for me to integrate between 3 and 6 weeks old. If they are integrated while they are younger, and smaller, they are not considered to be much of a threat to the pecking order. Pretty much, they might get an obligatory peck if they get under foot... otherwise, they're ignored.

May I ask how you handle the integration from beginning to end? I have three 5.5 week olds that I need to integrate with nine 2 year olds. All hens with the exception of one of the littles. I think she might be a he.

 

[Raggedyroad]

Bee, I highlighted a lot of your words, b/c they resonate with truth and sound reasoning. I also built my first coop, and my first and second tractor, and a green house. All this from an old biddy who is hobbling by the end of each day. When I take nightly inventory of painful body parts, it's often much quicker to verbalize it by stating what doesn't hurt! Hubby and I built the final coop together, and that was a massive undertaking, for the most part b/c he's more of a perfectionist than I am. ANYONE can pick up a good "building for idiots" book and put together a stick built coop. Any one can research on line and build either stick built or hoop coop for a fraction of the cost of those doll houses. I cringe when I think about any birds going through a Maine winter without enough space to allow adequate ventilation without being in the midst of a draft, and allow enough space to tough out a winter storm without killing each other.

Gosh! I have a pretty big coop (7' x 8' on the floor and 5' to the lowest eave high and 6' to the highest eve) but you guys are making me wonder if I've made a mistake by getting my 3 new little ones. That gives them 4.5 sq ft of floor space per hen, minus my treadle feeder. that takes up about a foot. Their run is 5' x 15'. I would hate to find out I've over crowded them and caused stress to the point that they won't accept the newbies.

I should add that they free range on 1/3 acre from about and hour after sunrise to and hour before sunset so they aren't in the coop for much more than sleeping.