Raising baby chicks with existing flock experiment

[TheFarmingFarmer]

I'm testing something out. I've put a warmer/brooder outside in an upside down storage tote (27 gal). I cut an opening in the storage tote so that the chicks can go in and out as they please. There is a 5 week old easter egger chick/pullet and a 2 week old buff oprington chick/roo there.

The tote and warmer are in a cage that is inside my chicken run where my 8 grown hens live.

Last night it got down to the 50s and tonight it's going down to the high 40s. Honestly they've been doing great by the looks of it.

There are a couple of things that I'm curious to see.

1. The 5 week old chick is nearly fully feathered, but I wonder if the 2 week old chick will feather faster.

2. Since they are being raised inside the run with my other hens, ideally this should avoid the awkward integration to the flock in the future since they will be seeing each other all the time.

3. I'm also curious if the BO roo will like the EE pullet the most out of all the hens in the future when they are fully grown, as I've seen others say that roosters may pick a favorite.

Feel free to follow the thread and I'll try to keep it updated as we progress I'll try to get some pictures of the chicks for tracking purposes. I've included a picture of the contraption I've built with the warmer.

 

[Nym]

This is cool. I look forward to watching it play out. My Pekin frizzle raised two chicks. The three hens then helped her raise two silkie chicks, one a roo. One of the hens, Susie, was such a doting aunty that she didn't stop calling to them for weeks after I passed them on. Susie and her mother are now sharing a nest with 3 eggs. This is Susie's first broody period but I'm in no doubt of her motherhood skills. No idea how they'll share the initial hatching period.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1. You really won't be able to compare with just 2 chicks, and of different genders and breeds. Supposedly chicks feather faster with exposure to outside temps but even after raising 2 broods outdoors I can't really say it's noticeably faster.

2. Yes and no. There's still an integration period, which you are just beginning. Your integration cage looks very good though, with lots of visibility and a draft protected area as well.

This is my brooder and integration set up: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/ - you'll probably notice that I'm much more aggressive with integration, but since you have a 5 week old and a 2 week old you'll need to adjust your process to what the 2 week old can handle.

3. I have no roo so it'll be interesting to see your results.

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

Checked up on them tonight at 51 F. They both seemed just fine the 2 week old BO roo is in the back. They actually came out right after this since the motion sensor light turned on. They ate and drank some and went back in.

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

1. You really won't be able to compare with just 2 chicks, and of different genders and breeds. Supposedly chicks feather faster with exposure to outside temps but even after raising 2 broods outdoors I can't really say it's noticeably faster.

2. Yes and no. There's still an integration period, which you are just beginning. Your integration cage looks very good though, with lots of visibility and a draft protected area as well.

This is my brooder and integration set up: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/ - you'll probably notice that I'm much more aggressive with integration, but since you have a 5 week old and a 2 week old you'll need to adjust your process to what the 2 week old can handle.

3. I have no roo so it'll be interesting to see your results.

1. Come to think of it, when I bought my first batch of 4 chicks I brought them home but wanted a second batch, when I called the store they said they had some left, so I went and picked them up and I did notice that although they were the same age, the feathering on the first batch was substantially more developed I had forgotten about that.

2. Wow your integration methods are indeed aggressive but effective. Excellent work there. I'll definitely consider that for my own use. Glad you have that out there.

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

This is cool. I look forward to watching it play out. My Pekin frizzle raised two chicks. The three hens then helped her raise two silkie chicks, one a roo. One of the hens, Susie, was such a doting aunty that she didn't stop calling to them for weeks after I passed them on. Susie and her mother are now sharing a nest with 3 eggs. This is Susie's first broody period but I'm in no doubt of her motherhood skills. No idea how they'll share the initial hatching period.

I've never heard of hens sharing a nest when both are broody, although I'm sure it's common, I'm just new to it but I am also curious as to how they will handle it when the chicks hatch

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I've never heard of hens sharing a nest when both are broody, although I'm sure it's common, I'm just new to it but I am also curious as to how they will handle it when the chicks hatch

Most of my hens will co-nest if given an opportunity. Some do okay, some end up fighting and can break eggs or kill chicks with their squabbles.

 

[Nym]

I have read about the possibility of egg / chick injury, so definitely a concern. At the moment they both seem to be quite happy. Fingers crossed it stays that way. They both leave the nest each day for food, water and a dust bath, but it's usually Susie to return the fastest. With the past hatchings, Betty would hardly leave the nest, much less the coop! It must be handy having a second sitter.

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

I can't honestly say that my BO roo looks any different from an expected 3 week old BO, so feathering doesn't really seem to make much of a difference. I will say that he has sustained constant outdoor temps in the 50s without any issues, contrary to what I read online that chicks need 80+ degrees F. They do cuddle under the warmth at night.

The roo is much more willing to eat closer to the flock as shown in the image. That's likely due to him being taken out at an earlier age (2 weeks) as opposed to the EE pullet who went out much later (5 weeks).

After reading @rosemarythyme 's post on integrating chicks, I opened some little entryways for the chicks to go in and out of their safe area as they please. However, I am considering the potential of removing the main cover and providing smaller cover here and there so that they are forced to integrate.

 

[TheFarmingFarmer]

EE is 6 weeks old now and BO is 3 weeks old.

I attempted to get the chicks and put them up on the roost at night with the other hens once they settled down for the night. After some serious crying by the roo, all calmed down and it looked like they would stay there comfortably. I put them next to one of my nice girls who does not peck or chase them.

This however, did not work. I went outside a few minutes later only to find that the chicks had hopped off and had gone into their brooder area. Bummer.

Of course the brooder area is going away at some point, but with a long weekend trip coming up soon (2 weeks or so) and the girls needing to get through a lot of the layer feed, I figure I can have the chicks in there a couple more weeks. Once that trip ends though, I think I'm taking away the brooder area for sure.

On the bright side, today I took the chicks far out of the coop/run space and placed them outside with the other hens where they were able to explore more than they were willing to do on their own.