Acclimating the baby male

[Linz2711]

OK so baby Lucky is healed from his neck wounds and is ready to be acclimated back to the chicken pack. We let him out side in neutral territory to free range with the other chickens which didn’t go totally as expected because the other chickens did not welcome him100%. How in the world can I get him back in the pack with the others (his brother and sister and mom and auntie)?

 

[3KillerBs]

Did you do a see-don't-touch period of at least a week?


Here are some useful articles on integration:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-“see-but-don’t-touch”-method.67839/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/adding-to-your-flock.47756/

 

[aart]

OK so baby Lucky is healed from his neck wounds and is ready to be acclimated back to the chicken pack. We let him out side in neutral territory to free range with the other chickens which didn’t go totally as expected because the other chickens did not welcome him100%. How in the world can I get him back in the pack with the others (his brother and sister and mom and auntie)?

How old is this bird, in weeks or months?
How long was he separated and was it within sight of the flock?

It's going to be like any other integration, maybe harder with a single bird.

This might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

As might this......
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.
Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Mrs. K]

Chickens have a limited memory -and separating them often causes more problems.

What you are trying to do, is add a 'new' single bird, a very hard integration, everyone else is afraid of this bird, and KNOWS this bird does not belong. So attack.

What you need to do, is not to add a single bird, but rather a pair or trio. Put a single bird with this guy, there will be a bit of bluster - but one bird to one bird, not 4 birds to one.

Wait 3 days, then add one of the adult birds to this pair, let that settle for three days, then add the trio back to the flock.

Clutter in the run is important - places to get out of sight, to escape.

I am a bit worried about the brother. VERY OFTEN brothers, even birds raised together, (and now your birds have not been) do not get along. They can fight once, settle it, fight again later. If you have a small set up, and generally when you have 5 birds, you do have a small set up, then I strongly recommend removing at least one of the roosters. And if you are new to chickens, I would remove both. Roosters are a crap shoot, the more roosters you have the greater the chance of it going wrong.

Roosters take experience, and depending on the age of these birds, it might be impossible to add this rooster back to an established flock. Rooster do not understand sharing, and will fight to defend their territory and hens. It might just not work no matter what you do. They do not call it cockfighting for nothing. Inexperienced people often vastly underestimate the violence of roosters.

Mrs K

 

[Mrs. K]

How old are all these birds? That might change advice.

 

[Linz2711]

Chickens have a limited memory -and separating them often causes more problems.

What you are trying to do, is add a 'new' single bird, a very hard integration, everyone else is afraid of this bird, and KNOWS this bird does not belong. So attack.

What you need to do, is not to add a single bird, but rather a pair or trio. Put a single bird with this guy, there will be a bit of bluster - but one bird to one bird, not 4 birds to one.

Wait 3 days, then add one of the adult birds to this pair, let that settle for three days, then add the trio back to the flock.

Clutter in the run is important - places to get out of sight, to escape.

I am a bit worried about the brother. VERY OFTEN brothers, even birds raised together, (and now your birds have not been) do not get along. They can fight once, settle it, fight again later. If you have a small set up, and generally when you have 5 birds, you do have a small set up, then I strongly recommend removing at least one of the roosters. And if you are new to chickens, I would remove both. Roosters are a crap shoot, the more roosters you have the greater the chance of it going wrong.

Roosters take experience, and depending on the age of these birds, it might be impossible to add this rooster back to an established flock. Rooster do not understand sharing, and will fight to defend their territory and hens. It might just not work no matter what you do. They do not call it cockfighting for nothing. Inexperienced people often vastly underestimate the violence of roosters.

Mrs K

I really appreciate your advice and guidance. Thank you

 

[Linz2711]

the babies are 4 months

 

[Mrs. K]

I was afraid of that. I just don't think this is going to work, and even if you got it to work for a couple of days...I don't think it would last. Now might be a good time to replace this bird with a hen.

Do you have some options for removing a bird that does not fit in? Somewhere between 4-5 months, rooster chicks come in to their own, so to speak, and the hormones start raging, and often times they become very aggressive to pullets, to other roosters, and to people.

What happened that caused you to pull him in the first place?

I just would not give this a lot of hope for working.

Mrs K

 

[Linz2711]

He stuck his lil head through the chicken wire when his sibling escaped the coop we believe. We didn’t update the coop since we had our first batch and baby proof the entire thing. He ripped his neck in several locations. The flys/gnats have been really bad in our location and I didn’t want it any worse during healing time. I bought a dog kennel and kept him inside. They did tell me not to separate the babies but I didn’t have space for all three babies.