2 sets of new chicks, integration question

[Chickiechickieboomboom]

I got 3 baby chicks about 2 weeks ago. When they are 4 weeks old, I'll be getting 3 more baby chicks (long story). I plan on having 2 brooders in my house (XL wire dog crates, so they can see but not touch each other), side by side, until they can all coexist without the older chicks attacking the younger ones. Once they can get along, I plan on attaching the 2 crates so they have a larger joint area. I'd do this for maybe 2 weeks.

I am hoping after 2 weeks, they'll be ready to all go out into the grow out coop (so 3 chicks would be maybe 7 weeks old, and 3 would be only 3 weeks old). I would have a heat plate for them, of course.

The grow out coop will have an attached run, so my current flock of 4 hens (9 months old) can see but not touch until the chicks are big enough.

I'm thinking in maybe 3 months I'll be able to add all 6 of my new chicks into the big coop.

Does this plan sound like it could work?

 

[TK421]

I haven’t had good luck with this, and I think it’s due to lack of patience. Advice I received was to integrate them by babysitting them for several hours a day over a few weeks. I didn’t have the patience, but if you do it where there’s plenty of room, it should be easier And faster.

 

[aart]

I got 3 baby chicks about 2 weeks ago. When they are 4 weeks old, I'll be getting 3 more baby chicks (long story). I plan on having 2 brooders in my house (XL wire dog crates, so they can see but not touch each other), side by side, until they can all coexist without the older chicks attacking the younger ones. Once they can get along, I plan on attaching the 2 crates so they have a larger joint area. I'd do this for maybe 2 weeks.

I am hoping after 2 weeks, they'll be ready to all go out into the grow out coop (so 3 chicks would be maybe 7 weeks old, and 3 would be only 3 weeks old). I would have a heat plate for them, of course.

The grow out coop will have an attached run, so my current flock of 4 hens (9 months old) can see but not touch until the chicks are big enough.

I'm thinking in maybe 3 months I'll be able to add all 6 of my new chicks into the big coop.

Does this plan sound like it could work?

How big is your grow out coop?
Might be easier to integrate the 2 chick groups out there than using the crates.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We do get ourselves into some messes don't we? We just have to deal with them.

So you have three different flocks to integrate. The four are old enough you can consider them adults. Then two sets of three a month apart in age. It could go well, you might have more drama than you really need.

What do your outside facilities look like? Size in feet of your main coop, main run, grow-out coop, and any run associated with that grow-out coop. How are they tied together? Are they elevated or on the ground? In the main coop how is it laid out? I'm thinking primarily of roosts and nests. Photos could really help us understand. There are generic suggestions that can help with any integration but to give suggestions specific to your situation it helps to know what you have to work with.

I think your general plan could work. I'm not sure you really need to wait three months, but some of that depends on what your facilities look like. As Aart said, it might be easier to integrate the chicks in the grow-out coop. But maybe not. I'd want to know how big it is and what it looks like.

My definition of a successful integration is not that they immediately become a tight knit group cuddling around a campfire as they sing Cum Ba Yah. My definition is that no one gets hurt. That Cum Ba Yah stuff comes with time.

 

[Chickiechickieboomboom]

What do your outside facilities look like? Size in feet of your main coop, main run, grow-out coop, and any run associated with that grow-out coop. How are they tied together? Are they elevated or on the ground? In the main coop how is it laid out? I'm thinking primarily of roosts and nests.

The main coop is a 7x7 converted shed, on a slab on the ground. The grow out coop is this -. And can be put anywhere, it's on wheels.

The main coop has 11' of roosts in an L shape across the back and right side walls, with poop trays, 3.5' high. 3 nest boxes under the back wall poop tray. Food and water in coop (I'll add more when I integrate).

My hens free range in my fenced back yard. Maybe an acre? It feels plenty big for them. I do have 50' of chicken wire to block off an area for the chicks when they move to the grow out coop. There are lots of random shelters in the yard for cover from rain and predator.

One of my chicks arrived with a terrible leg injury so so want to keep them indoors as long as I can. I thought it was a slipped tendon but it seems more like a broken or dislocated leg after 2 weeks. The knee joint is hardened and calcified and her mobility is very limited. I'm not sure what her future looks like. I've been treating with a chick chair, splinted it for 10 days with a straw and vetwrap, she's in hobbles now. It's very sad, and I'm not ready for her to leave my living room.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Not sure of the size of that grow-out coop but it should be big enough. It being on wheels is probably why you can get electricity to it. It looks like it may be high enough off the ground for chicks to hide under it. In some ways that could be good but it would be hard to get them out if they don't want to come. That could be an issue.

That main coop should be plenty big enough for 10 chickens. I like the roost space, that could be important. With that grow-out coop you should be OK.

You have a lot of options that should work. I'm not sure which one I''d try. I regularly have chicks a month apart in age but typically have a broody hen to handle the younger one's integration. My brooder is in the coop and I typically have my brooder-raised chicks running with the adult flock by the time they are 5 weeks old. My broody-raised chicks are integrated whenever Mama weans them.

Do you have electricity in your main coop? If you do you could cobble together a brooder in there for the youngest set. Just raise them in the main coop from the start. Then around 5 weeks old let them out to mingle with the adults. That's basically what I do but my main coop is probably more cluttered with hiding places than yours. By the time they are five weeks old you should have fabulous weather where your adults and the chicks can be out all day every day. With an acre they can stay well apart. I'd move the older three to that grow-out coop with a pen around it and let them be across wire from the adults for two or three weeks before I let them mingle. I'd want to be sure they return to that grow-out coop to sleep at night after you let them mingle. After the three groups have roamed together for a month on that acre you can try moving the middle group into the main coop. Things can go bad at any time, you have to pay attention. But this would be my time of greatest concern, when all three groups wake up together. If you have electricity out there this is probably the way I'd try.

If you don't have electricity in the main coop I'd try about the same thing but move the older group into a wire "pen" in the main coop after they can handle the weather. Raise the younger group from when you get them in that grow-out coop. Maybe make the pen in the main coop a safe haven when you release them. I'd probably try releasing them after two weeks if weather is nice but when you can observe. You make a safe haven by having an opening big enough the younger can get through but the older cannot, maybe by having a door you can raise or crack open the right amount. I'm not worried about during the day as they should spread out but when they all wake up in the morning. Let the younger ones sleep in that grow-out coop until they are maybe 12 weeks old before you try to get them to sleep with the others. You are in no hurry.

You can try integrating the younger groups as you plan. It should work. Another option is to split that grow-out coop into two sections and put both groups out there, either as soon as you get the younger ones or when ever you are willing to try. Keep the younger ones in their section with heat but allow the others to roam inside that chicken wire across from the adults.

That grow-out coop doesn't have a lot of ventilation, though it is better than many I've seen. I'd probably want to park it in the shade, at least during the heat of the day. It would be nice if you can open that pop door during the day for added ventilation. Or maybe crack open the nest roofs a little during the day.

Nothing ever goes as planned so be flexible and base your actions on what you see. But I don't think you are in a bad place. That main coop is bigger than many and the extra roosts could help. Having an acre outside is a huge benefit as long as you don't run into predator issues. I wish you luck.