JBrook1941
In the Brooder
- May 31, 2023
- 12
- 19
- 26
Hello – I have an integration question. This is our first time doing this, so suggestions or ideas are welcome.
Please read and understand before commenting something that makes no sense. TYIA.
We have 4 chickens that are 13 weeks old – 1 Roo and 3 hens. We also have 3 hens that are 8 weeks old. We have 3 more weeks before we leave for vacation for 8 days, which is when everyone needs to be happily merged into one flock in the coop/run. Not sure if breeds matter, but Roo and Hen are RIR and 2 hens are SLW. The younger ones we have 1 Black Sex Link and 2 Buff Orpingtons. The roo is coming into his own and trying to mount all the girls – including the littles. He is friendly, just a young rooster being a young rooster.
For the last 4 weeks we have done the following:
What is our next move? Do we just toss the littles in the run and let the panic and chaos happen and come back in a few hours and hope all is well? Is there a step we are missing? I feel if we keep doing the above we will never progress to them all being in the same space…. They have reached the end of the limited exposure of around the yard, in a cage, etc. and we now just need to put them all together??!?! Help. Help. Help.
We want them all happy and safe – please help.
Please read and understand before commenting something that makes no sense. TYIA.
We have 4 chickens that are 13 weeks old – 1 Roo and 3 hens. We also have 3 hens that are 8 weeks old. We have 3 more weeks before we leave for vacation for 8 days, which is when everyone needs to be happily merged into one flock in the coop/run. Not sure if breeds matter, but Roo and Hen are RIR and 2 hens are SLW. The younger ones we have 1 Black Sex Link and 2 Buff Orpingtons. The roo is coming into his own and trying to mount all the girls – including the littles. He is friendly, just a young rooster being a young rooster.
For the last 4 weeks we have done the following:
- Let them around our yard together free ranging. The littles avoid the bigs – but they do go close to them (within a few feet) and they will try and eat snacks with them before the bigs chase them off. The bigs sometimes chase the littles around the yard for 10-20 seconds at most, rarely catch them, and sometimes they nip at their feathers. No one is harmed, no blood, no yanked feathers – the littles are just scared and make a lot of noise and panic, so it sounds worse than it is.
- At first, we kept the cage outside the run so they saw each other from afar or next to each other without contact for a few weeks.
- The last 3 weeks we have been putting the littles in a smaller cage inside the larger run of the coop and leaving there all day for 5-7 hours. Littles are protected, but the bigs can poke a head through and peck if they wanted. All seem fine.
- At night, when the bigs go into the coop for bed, I have it divided off with chicken wire so they can all see each other and the littles sleep one side, the bigs on the other.
What is our next move? Do we just toss the littles in the run and let the panic and chaos happen and come back in a few hours and hope all is well? Is there a step we are missing? I feel if we keep doing the above we will never progress to them all being in the same space…. They have reached the end of the limited exposure of around the yard, in a cage, etc. and we now just need to put them all together??!?! Help. Help. Help.
We want them all happy and safe – please help.