Adding new chickens

[TheFamousOldBrand]

I currently have 3 chickens, 2 Ameraucana and 1 Isa Brown. I raised them from chicks last year. They currently have free run of the entire property including yard, gardens, flower beds and woods. The coop door stays open all the time. It s a prefab coop from tractor supply so it is pretty small. This weekend I will be getting 3 Ameraucana pullets from a coworker.

I had a few questions about the introduction.

1. Do I need to keep the new birds cooped up for a few days when I bring them home to teach them where their house is? I did this with the original birds nut IDK how necessary it really was.

If I don't need to do that...

2. With a full free range setup and plenty of cover for the new birds, do I need to separate them for a few days? I was hoping to spend Saturday and Sunday just watching to make sure there wasn't any bloodshed.

Thanks for any advice and help.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How old are those pullets? Have they started laying? Immature teenagers will be treated differently and act differently than pullets old enough that they have started laying.

Something that is different to the vast majority of people on here is that you totally free range. On farms where chickens free range the traditional way people introduce and integrate new chickens is that that they turn them loose. They don't usually go through the look but don't touch phase or any of that. With that kind of room it's not usually necessary as far as them trying to kill each other. If the pullets are old enough they'll sort out the pecking order. That might get violent but usually not, the loser should run away. If the pullets aren't old enough they'll just stay away. They are at the absolute bottom of the pecking order and will stay there until they mature enough to join in.

But where will the pullets sleep? That is the question. If they are old enough to join the pecking order there is a pretty good chance they will follow the hens to that coop to sleep. They may not, especially if it is as small as I think it might be, so they could find some other place to sleep, maybe in brush or trees.

If they are immature it is unlikely they will sleep in that coop with the adults. I don't know where they will sleep, could be anywhere, but highly likely in brush or trees.

If the pullets are older they probably will hang around the hens. If they are immature they probably will not hang with the hens but form a sub-flock and hang by themselves. They may stay in the general area or they may disappear in the distance. They probably won't disappear in the distance but it is possible. If you house them somewhere in the vicinity for a few days they should not go anywhere.

If you were housing them in coops and runs where they can't totally get away and stay away I'd have different concerns. In your case I don't think violence between the chickens is much of a risk, but pay attention anyway. Getting them to sleep where you want them to could be huge.

 

[TheFamousOldBrand]

How old are those pullets? Have they started laying? Immature teenagers will be treated differently and act differently than pullets old enough that they have started laying.

Something that is different to the vast majority of people on here is that you totally free range. On farms where chickens free range the traditional way people introduce and integrate new chickens is that that they turn them loose. They don't usually go through the look but don't touch phase or any of that. With that kind of room it's not usually necessary as far as them trying to kill each other. If the pullets are old enough they'll sort out the pecking order. That might get violent but usually not, the loser should run away. If the pullets aren't old enough they'll just stay away. They are at the absolute bottom of the pecking order and will stay there until they mature enough to join in.

But where will the pullets sleep? That is the question. If they are old enough to join the pecking order there is a pretty good chance they will follow the hens to that coop to sleep. They may not, especially if it is as small as I think it might be, so they could find some other place to sleep, maybe in brush or trees.

If they are immature it is unlikely they will sleep in that coop with the adults. I don't know where they will sleep, could be anywhere, but highly likely in brush or trees.

If the pullets are older they probably will hang around the hens. If they are immature they probably will not hang with the hens but form a sub-flock and hang by themselves. They may stay in the general area or they may disappear in the distance. They probably won't disappear in the distance but it is possible. If you house them somewhere in the vicinity for a few days they should not go anywhere.

If you were housing them in coops and runs where they can't totally get away and stay away I'd have different concerns. In your case I don't think violence between the chickens is much of a risk, but pay attention anyway. Getting them to sleep where you want them to could be huge.

They are just old enough to go outside into the cold nights (mid 40s) assuming they go into the coop. Definitely won't start laying for another couple weeks. The coop is very small, the roosting bar in the upper area has room for 6 birds on it. The lower area is supposed to be the "run" but I converted it into just another room in the coop, that's why they free range.

Your comments about lack of chicken violence are encouraging but I don't want the young ones to sleep in the bush. I do have an owl living on the property and a few possums that might take a young chicken (they haven't been issues with the grown birds)

I think I may need to construct a second coop for the time being, just so the new birds have shelter until they join the flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The problem with immature pullets (and cockerels to a certain point) is that the adults outrank them in the pecking order. If the chicks invade the adults personal space they are likely to get pecked. It usually doesn't take long for the chicks to learn to avoid the adults. During the day they stay where the adults are not. At night, as they are settling in to sleep, they don't get near the adults. This is where all those square feet per chicken or inches of roost space per chicken break down during integration and especially when you are integrating juveniles. Can the juveniles avoid entering the personal space of an adult even when the adult is walking around or settling on the roost?

My coop is big enough that the juveniles can find a place to sleep that is safe from the adults. On occasion my broody raised chicks may sleep in the far corner of my roosts but often even they abandon the roosts when their broody hen weans them and leaves them on their own. They often sleep on the floor. They used to sleep in my nests until I put up a juvenile roost lower and separated from the main roosts and right above the nests for them to use. I often have different aged broods of chicks, they don't usually sleep together either. I don't care where the chicks sleep as long as it is predator proof and not in my nests.

From what you've said I don't think your coop is anywhere near big enough for this. You might be able to configure a safe place in what was the run when you got that TSC coop. Maybe.

The way I'd approach your situation with that small coop is to find them a safe place to sleep, maybe in an outbuilding or build them something specific, and house them there until the know it is a safe place to sleep. A week should be plenty. Then let them range with the adults until they are ready to join them at night.

I have a permanent place (I call my Grow-out Coop) like this with it's own section of run. I use it when the main coop is crowded. I built it elevated with a wire floor so it can be used as a broody buster or to isolate a chicken that needs to be isolated as well as for integrating chicks. I find this to be really handy but in the middle of summer I usually have over 50 chickens, mostly juveniles of various ages growing to butcher age. Some brooder raised, some raised by broody hens. A somewhat different situation than yours. But I do have over 3,000 square feet available to them outside. A lot of room.

 

[TheFamousOldBrand]

The problem with immature pullets (and cockerels to a certain point) is that the adults outrank them in the pecking order. If the chicks invade the adults personal space they are likely to get pecked. It usually doesn't take long for the chicks to learn to avoid the adults. During the day they stay where the adults are not. At night, as they are settling in to sleep, they don't get near the adults. This is where all those square feet per chicken or inches of roost space per chicken break down during integration and especially when you are integrating juveniles. Can the juveniles avoid entering the personal space of an adult even when the adult is walking around or settling on the roost?

My coop is big enough that the juveniles can find a place to sleep that is safe from the adults. On occasion my broody raised chicks may sleep in the far corner of my roosts but often even they abandon the roosts when their broody hen weans them and leaves them on their own. They often sleep on the floor. They used to sleep in my nests until I put up a juvenile roost lower and separated from the main roosts and right above the nests for them to use. I often have different aged broods of chicks, they don't usually sleep together either. I don't care where the chicks sleep as long as it is predator proof and not in my nests.

From what you've said I don't think your coop is anywhere near big enough for this. You might be able to configure a safe place in what was the run when you got that TSC coop. Maybe.

The way I'd approach your situation with that small coop is to find them a safe place to sleep, maybe in an outbuilding or build them something specific, and house them there until the know it is a safe place to sleep. A week should be plenty. Then let them range with the adults until they are ready to join them at night.

I have a permanent place (I call my Grow-out Coop) like this with it's own section of run. I use it when the main coop is crowded. I built it elevated with a wire floor so it can be used as a broody buster or to isolate a chicken that needs to be isolated as well as for integrating chicks. I find this to be really handy but in the middle of summer I usually have over 50 chickens, mostly juveniles of various ages growing to butcher age. Some brooder raised, some raised by broody hens. A somewhat different situation than yours. But I do have over 3,000 square feet available to them outside. A lot of room

From the replies it sounds like a secondary coop for the juveniles is in order. I can build one today or tomorrow before I pick them up. Thank you for you input.