Adding chicks to my existing flock, is it too early?!?

[rosemarythyme]

Here are a few pictures of our set up. Don’t mind all of the extra crap laying around.. we have been in the process of making changes to accommodate our (my ) chicken math!

Good amount of space to work with, and "extra crap" is great during integration.

 

[#lovemychickens]

So just from my own experience, someone will probably fly out. IF one flies out it may panic and struggle to remember how to get in, so when using a wire surround like this, I find it safer to elevate it slightly, and let the chicks come and go from there as they wish.

So hard to tell from this photo (because I snapped it without actually setting it up), but the bricks around the perimeter of my brooder are there to rest the chicken wire on top of, and create openings all the way around, so the chicks can duck in and out but adults can't get in.

(Forgot to mention, chicks here are 15 days old).

View attachment 2212868

This past weekend one of the three week old chicks flew out and got mixed in with the older ladies.. the poor thing was being ganged up on and couldn’t get back in with the others... so I raised the fence like you had mentioned all the way around. Today is their first day unsupervised and I think I might just worry all day until I can get home to check on them. Have you had any adverse actions with doing it this way? Any injuries? Will the flock integrate quicker with this method?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have you had any adverse actions with doing it this way? Any injuries? Will the flock integrate quicker with this method?

Expect that the hens to still want to chase them around for a couple of weeks. The chicks will quickly learn that the inside of the fenced area is safe (their instinct will be to return to the brooder) but they will also want to venture out and poke around a bit, so it's a gradual process that eases the two groups together.

I've never had injuries though some of the hens have been pretty mean. Like with this last batch one of the hens picked up a chick during the start of integration and threw it a couple of feet... the chick was quick to run back to the safe zone and was not injured, so I didn't interfere.

My chicks are now a bit over 6 weeks (started mingling at 2 weeks, moved to coop at 4), and at this point the adults are no longer interested in bothering them and mostly let them be, which is about as ideal a situation as you'll get.

 

[Sahraschweiss]

Looking at your set up, and you are still having problems, you could staple sheets to the rafters and pin/clothes pin/anchor to the fencing...

 

[#lovemychickens]

First day unsupervised and all are doing pretty good. I sat there and watched for a bit when I got home from work and they do know where to run when they are getting chased. A few of the older ones act like they don’t even exist while others pace back and forth waiting for one to come out.

How long before I can remove the fencing around and let them all be in one area? The two ages that I’m trying to integrate are almost four and six weeks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

First day unsupervised and all are doing pretty good. I sat there and watched for a bit when I got home from work and they do know where to run when they are getting chased. A few of the older ones act like they don’t even exist while others pace back and forth waiting for one to come out.

How long before I can remove the fencing around and let them all be in one area? The two ages that I’m trying to integrate are almost four and six weeks.

Sounds like a good start! The most important part is the chicks knowing where to go, so even if one or two of the hens really is cranky, the chicks can still find safety.

Play it by ear - watch their behavior, and if the hens start backing off (or at least pecking less vigorously) and the chicks grow more confident, you can start thinking about taking the fence down. Roughly 2 weeks is a good amount of time, though you possibly may find the 6 week olds aging out of the size of the safety gaps by 8 weeks (depending on how large the gaps are), which means they'll need to manage on their own anyhow.

 

[M Brennen]

I currently have three, 3 year old hens mixed with ten- 11 week pullets. I have a second group of chicks that are five weeks and the remaining are three weeks old. Tomorrow our temps are supposed to be in the 90’s and the humidity levels are going to become almost tropic for the next week. Is it safe to put them in the same run but separated by cattle fencing that has chicken wire about 1 1/2 feet high from the ground up, so they can’t get out? I’m concerned the others will fly in to their area or one of the Littles could accidentally fly out. We have a run that is secure and nothing can get in.. I’m just a bit worried about leaving them in the coop during this crazy heat with little air movement and I’m concerned about having them in the same area as the others. I will take any advice I can get!

What age did you put your 11 week old pullets with your older hens? How many older hens do you have?

 

[#lovemychickens]

What age did you put your 11 week old pullets with your older hens? How many older hens do you have?

I did the same separation thing that I’m currently doing now and started that when they were 6 weeks old, except I didn’t have the fencing raised so they couldn’t get in with the three older ones. I kept them in there for a week. Then I would let them outside together to free range during the second week. During the second week I left the two fences open so they could be in with the older girls. There was a lot of pecking at first.. then one night I went in to put them away and they were all in the coop together. I was a bit shocked. So they were a little over 8 weeks old when they all became friends! Now I’m just trying to get this third batch to join the group. Let me tell you this round hasn’t been so easy. I have about 6 hens that will stop what they are doing to chase the little girls down and it’s like they almost gang up on them. It may take longer than the two weeks this time. Are you trying to integrate chicks with your current flock?

 

[M Brennen]

I did the same separation thing that I’m currently doing now and started that when they were 6 weeks old, except I didn’t have the fencing raised so they couldn’t get in with the three older ones. I kept them in there for a week. Then I would let them outside together to free range during the second week. During the second week I left the two fences open so they could be in with the older girls. There was a lot of pecking at first.. then one night I went in to put them away and they were all in the coop together. I was a bit shocked. So they were a little over 8 weeks old when they all became friends! Now I’m just trying to get this third batch to join the group. Let me tell you this round hasn’t been so easy. I have about 6 hens that will stop what they are doing to chase the little girls down and it’s like they almost gang up on them. It may take longer than the two weeks this time. Are you trying to integrate chicks with your current flock?

I currently have 29 chicks that are just starting their fourth week. They are in a smaller box in my chicken coop. I have two standard sized hens and two bantam birds (one male, one female) that are in the coop. I am planning to keep the smaller birds in their box for another three weeks. I am hoping all goes well when they are integrated as I have another set of birds (I never received my Buff Orpingtons with The first order), so I will be in the same boat again trying to integrate another set of birds into the flock.

 

[M Brennen]

I did the same separation thing that I’m currently doing now and started that when they were 6 weeks old, except I didn’t have the fencing raised so they couldn’t get in with the three older ones. I kept them in there for a week. Then I would let them outside together to free range during the second week. During the second week I left the two fences open so they could be in with the older girls. There was a lot of pecking at first.. then one night I went in to put them away and they were all in the coop together. I was a bit shocked. So they were a little over 8 weeks old when they all became friends! Now I’m just trying to get this third batch to join the group. Let me tell you this round hasn’t been so easy. I have about 6 hens that will stop what they are doing to chase the little girls down and it’s like they almost gang up on them. It may take longer than the two weeks this time. Are you trying to integrate chicks with your current flock?

How many hens do you have in total?