A quick question when getting baby chicks.

[Turken1964]

I plan on getting baby chicks around Easter time (yaaay!)
I have a Naked Neck Turken who is around four in a half years old, almost five. There is one thing I'm worried about.
How will I introduce my baby chicks to my Turken?
I'll try to explain the best I can, but I'm afraid that once the chicks get old enough, and when I introduce them outside to the coop, that my Turken will attack the chicks, or that they wont get along with her. Any advice if this happens? Thank you!

- Turken1964.

 

[Jensownzoo]

There are quite a few threads on introducing new members into a flock, so you can do a search. I think my favorite suggestion (and one I'll be trying out this spring) is giving the new ones a "panic room" with a door of a size that they can go through it, but the older ones can't. It gives them a place to flee to if they're being picked on.

 

[Turken1964]

That's a really good idea! I'll look around the forums for a bit and see what pops up. Thank you so much!

 

[junebuggena]

Introducing a group of young birds to a lone adult is actually pretty easy compared to trying to introduce one or two to an large, established flock. Chickens understand the whole 'my group is bigger than your group' concept. Once the chicks are about 8 to 10 weeks old, they will be big enough to handle any pecking order issues, and the adult will be happy to have some chicken company again.

 

[azygous]

All chickens are leery of strange chickens at first, even baby chicks. That's why you introduce them gradually and with barriers to prevent the sort of nasty scenes you are envisioning.

If you're planning on raising baby chicks, the easiest thing to do is brood them right in the coop or the run, if the coop is lacking in space. It not only gives the chicks plenty of room to develop, it affords the adult chicken(s) the opportunity to gradually become accepting of the babies. (See the thread on brooding with the heating pad system "Mama-Heating Pad for the Brooder")

After the chicks have reached three weeks of age, I then open small chick-size openings (5 x 7") into the rest of the run. The chicks then mingle with the adult(s) and run back to safety when harassed. This panic room system has been successful for my chicks for going on nine years.

Note the flaps on the hinged door frames. It helps to be able to close them when you need to confine the chicks to their safe pen for some reason, such as you aren't there to supervise the early excursions into the adult flock.

This system allows introduction of the chicks at an early age when they're still small enough to present less of a threat to any adults in the flock. Acceptance occurs earlier because the chicks have been part of the flock by proximity from the very start, and the chicks have been learning while observing the adult behavior and are better equipped to understand the dangers involved in becoming part of the pecking order.

 

[Turken1964]

I just wanted to say, thank you all so much for the wonderful advice! I just got my chicks, so I'll use everyone's advice .