About to throw my 1st ever "chicken mixer" - Need help understanding peck types!

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

I'm almost ready to mix in my chicks to my one-chicken flock, but I'm new to this pecking order business and want to know what's okay and what's not okay. Quick recap - Due to illness I lost 2 of my hens and I'm left with one remaining 3 1/2 year old hen. She's a little crazy from being alone and is now sterile and gender confused and crows like a rooster, but that's another story. My chicks are about 7-8 weeks old right now and have been living in the coop in a chick nursery for 4 weeks. So my BR sees them, hears them, smells them and hates them - but can't get to them. A few times when I've been feeding them, my BR has come in contact with them and she dives at them like a hawk and pecks them, causing them to scream like they're being killed, and me to run around like a loon getting them separate again. I've read that 12 weeks is the perfect 'intro' time and I'm wondering if I really do have to wait until they are 12 weeks... And when they are introduced, how a newbie to chicken-mixin' like myself can tell the diff btwn a 'pecking order' peck and a 'i hope this kills you' peck.

Thanks!!

 

[galanie]

The best thing is the have enough space and hiding places that the little ones can get away from the big bully. They are rather vicious about it at first. I don't think of it as a certain age so much as a certain size. You can integrate before the new ones are as large as the older but you don't want them too small. Unless you have a pretty large area for them to run in, I'd wait a few more weeks.

For myself, I don't worry because they do have lots and lots of places to get away here. I've not fallen for the chicken math thing enough that they're in any way crowded and the have the run of my back yard, more than 1/4 acre back there with 2 coops and a garage and lordy knows what all else to get into.

Honestly, they will peck hard at first but if no blood is being drawn, then it's ok.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

Thanks.... so I'm looking for blood, eh? Eesh. This is going to be hard on me mentally.

I haven't fallen for chicken math either, although it's soooo soooo tempting. I think silkies are like marijuana. They call marijuana the gateway drug - once you try it you end up moving on to more and more drugs... Well silkies are the gateway chicken. Once you get one, you're hooked and you end up in the chicken math conundrum. This is why I love love love silkies, but have never owned one. I'm too scared to take my first puff...

Back to my chicken mixer - thanks for the info. I have a nice sized run for them and it's only one adult hen and three chicks, so I don't think they'll be short on space, but there aren't many places to hide. I let my hen free-range for a couple of hours each day, but I'm not ready for my chicks to free range yet. I need them to be bigger, slower and easier to catch.

 

[galanie]

All breeds are "gateway" chickens. You will now want more chickens... and don't come here to ask if you should get them cause we're ALL enablers... Like drug dealers.