Adding 2 mo old chicks in with 5 mo old chickens?

[rottngrrl]

This is modified from my introduction post earlier today…

My chicken math TOTALLY SUCKS!!! LOL We are still raising our "first batch" of chickens ranging in ages 2-3 months old (hatch ~April 15 through May 13)...and are expecting another batch next week from Meyers Hatchery (this time with a PROPER brooder). The 40 hens and bantam white Cochin rooster are currently housed in a temporary 4' x 18' long coop (enclosed, ventilated, sliding door to tuck them in at night) attached to an 8' x 45' fenced and netted run while we build their permanent home. The permanent coop will be 8' x 12' with ~20 nesting boxes and the attached run will be roughly 30' x 50' fenced and netted (don't want the many eagles flying off with our ladies!!!). We are talking about owning a lot of chickens here; we intend to maintain a fluctuating flock of about 40 hens and a few roosters, but we are starting with more than that at around 60 birds (40 now + 20 coming). Go big or go home, right?

So far, we newbies have learned A LOT (and still have a LOT more to learn), but apparently we don't "remember" very well because we are headed down the "raising some chicks" road again so soon! It really DOES take SOOO much time and effort and attention and handling and cleaning and dusting and OMG! But the chickens and all their personalities are totally worth it!! Our first girls will be moving into their permanent digs in about a month, but one question I cannot seem to find the answer to is how to introduce the upcoming, new chicks to the first bunch who will only be getting ready to lay eggs (some maybe sooner, many likely later like the Brahmas). The chicks will be ready to move outside when they are around 8 weeks old, so around late September/early October (taking into account the weather getting cooler), which means the first bunch will be around 4-5 months old and will have lived in the permanent coop/run for about a month. Do we need to do an extended introduction when transitioning 20, 8 week old chicks over to living in the permanent coop with the 5 month old chickens, or because they are all so relatively young and there are so many of them, do we just toss them in with the original bunch and monitor? I feel like it's a stupid question to ask, but I honestly don't know because I can only find info on transitioning brooder-raised chicks in with an established, adult flock.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, once all the girls are settled in and clearly know where (and when) to go to roost at night, in addition to their regular 1500 sq ft run, they will have chaperoned access to 2 separate yards used for vegetable gardening and nursery stock (plants), so they will sorta be free-ranged on those days; probably a few days a week depending on the weather. But no chaperone, probably no field access because of the abundance of eagles, etc. (and there are other ground critters that would more than likely love to have chicken dinner, too!).

I hope that posting a modified question here was ok.

Thank you.

Jeannie

 

[aart]

Do we need to do an extended introduction when transitioning 20, 8 week old chicks over to living in the permanent coop with the 5 month old chickens, or because they are all so relatively young and there are so many of them, do we just toss them in with the original bunch and monitor?

I would not just toss them in, the 5 month olds will boisterously defend their territory.

Even your big coop(8x12) is tight quarters for 40 birds, let alone trying to integrate 20 more in with them.
There's a good article linked in my signature about SPACE.

Here's some tips about.....
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/

 

[Oncoming Storm]

So I don’t know about others but my flock is roughly in the twenties. They are free ranged around my barn and have access to the woods. I personally wait for young ones to be fully feathered before taking them down to the barn and putting them in the goat stall since it’s the most sealed. Once they feel comfortable enough, they’ll venture out and integrate themselves in. We don’t have issues with integration because there are many places to hide and most of the flock is (relatively) friendly (until feeding time). As long as the young ones have places they can hide away from the older birds, they should be fine. I would keep an eye though. Usually I end up spreading feed in different places for the young ones so I can ensure they get to eat.

 

[rottngrrl]

I would not just toss them in, the 5 month olds will boisterously defend their territory.

Even your big coop(8x12) is tight quarters for 40 birds, let alone trying to integrate 20 more in with them.
There's a good article linked in my signature about SPACE.

Here's some tips about.....
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/

Thank you for the info! I will read it more thoroughly later today and definitely put my thinking cap on. I had already planned a LOT of "enrichment" in the pen on multiple levels (swings, bridges, fences, tee-pees, treat and feeding stations, covered "sandbox"...a massive jungle-gym play-park if you will". I had considered the space, and our coop is already going to have essentially "2 floors", but we are now thinking of changing the dimensions up (10' x 12'?) and had already been considering partitioning the entrance end with a separate run in case anything came up, needing to separate a bird, raising chicks, etc. This is definitely on the table and our plans will be finalized later this week. Maybe we also need to consider the number of birds despite having an overly large pen.