adding new pullets to an older flock, suggestions?

[benjoycei]

I have 4 hens about a year old. I just got rid of my rooster (he was too hard on them). My local farmers supply store is taking orders for chicks available between Feb 28 -April 24 depending on the breed. I have a small adjoining pen so that they can be separated until they get used to each other. I want 4 chicks. I can't decide between the Speckled Sussex (Feb 28) the Cuckoo Marans (April 3), the Silver laced Wyandottes (Apr 17 -I really want some of these). I'd like to get 1 Sussex, 1 Maran, and 2 wyandottes. Do you think getting them at several weeks apart will be a problem?

And the older chickens still won't roost inside the coop, only outside. They only lay eggs in there. (Dummies) Will the babies take up that stupid habit?

 

[Mtnboomer]

I dont introduce new chicks until they are about 2/3 the size of the adults (+/- 4 mos Brahmas) they spend 2 months in an outdoor run visible to free ranging adults before introducing them to the coop.

Did you lock them in the coop for several days so they know where to go? My first birds were adults that had never seen a coop. I locked them up for 5 days and they went in at night on their own since day 1 of their release. Now I lock the chicks up with adults for 3 days once introduced. Then they usually follow the older birds to bed. Sometimes for a day or 2 after release all the chicks wont go in coop. If that happens, i spread some feed or scratch on ramp from ground to coop door. That usually works pretty fast to teach them to go in.

 

[benjoycei]

I dont introduce new chicks until they are about 2/3 the size of the adults (+/- 4 mos Brahmas) they spend 2 months in an outdoor run visible to free ranging adults before introducing them to the coop.

Did you lock them in the coop for several days so they know where to go? My first birds were adults that had never seen a coop. I locked them up for 5 days and they went in at night on their own since day 1 of their release. Now I lock the chicks up with adults for 3 days once introduced. Then they usually follow the older birds to bed. Sometimes for a day or 2 after release all the chicks wont go in coop. If that happens, i spread some feed or scratch on ramp from ground to coop door. That usually works pretty fast to teach them to go in.

Thanks

 

[aart]

Do you think getting them at several weeks apart will be a problem?

Hmmm, I have had both good luck and bad combining chicks a few weeks different in age. Be prepared to keep them separated by wire if things don't go well.
You may need multiple heat sources depending on your brooder set up.

I brood chicks in coop from one week after hatch, then integrate at 4-6 weeks.
It has worked splendidly and much easier than waiting until chicks are older,
tho it does take some prep to have a good brooding setup in the coop.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

And the older chickens still won't roost inside the coop, only outside.

We never did get at the bottom of the problem that you asked about here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dummies-wont-go-in-the-coop.1316675/
.....need to see your coop and run setup to help.

 

[Ridgerunner]

For all of this it would really really help to know what kind of area you are working with. What is the size, in feet, of your various coops and runs? How are they connected? What does the inside of your main coop look like? Photos could be a big help.

I introduce my chicks straight out of the incubator or from the post office but that's because my brooder is in the coop. They grow up with the flock, just across wire. At five weeks I typically open the brooder door and walk away. That's it, integration is done.

Will this work for you? I seriously doubt it. My coop is relatively big for the number of chickens I have (8' x 12'), I have a couple of extra shelters I can use if I need them, my main run is 12' x 32', I have an area about 45' x 65' in electric netting, and my weather allows the adults to be outside practically all day every day except when they are sleeping or laying eggs. My coop is sort of cluttered with hiding places and extra roosts for juveniles. I don't care where mine sleep as long as it is not in my nests and is somewhere predator safe. I don't try to force them together so they have to learn to get along. I give them as much room and freedom as I can so they can manage that themselves. With your number of chickens I get the feeling that your space may be limited. Hopefully I'm wrong because tight space can make integration much harder.

Knowing what you have to work with can help come up with suggestions for your situation. We can give you generic stuff but without knowing what you have to work with that may actually hurt.

When I have different age groups the younger tend to form a sub-flock and avoid the older ones. The mature ones often peck the immature ones when they invade their personal space so they quickly learn to not invade their personal space. I have enough room they can do that. If your room is so tight they can't avoid integration becomes much harder.

As for them sleeping in the coop, it would be good to know what the coop looks like and what the roosts inside look like. There may be something obvious about the roosts and coop. Even how much light you have inside can make a difference. If your window is such that it's really dark they may not be able to see well enough to go to bed. Or maybe you need to remove the roosts in the run.

Typically though that is a matter of habit. They are used to sleeping outside and you need to break that habit. The way I do that is every day after it is dark enough for them to go to bed I lock them in the coop overnight. Be consistent, do this every night until they start going to bed in there on their own. This may take a few days, it may take a few weeks. Many people like to set them on the roosts when they do this, I just put them on the coop floor and let them work it out.

Typically my immature chicks will not sleep on the roosts with the adults until they mature. Where they roost is a pecking order thing. The ones higher in the pecking order sleep where they want and choose who they will allow to sleep close to them. They can be (and often are) brutal to immature chicks that try to sleep with them, so mine sleep other places. If your older ones are sleeping in the run that may be in the coop. If your older ones are sleeping in the coop the juveniles may sleep in the run. If your coop is big enough and they have a safe place to sleep, both groups may sleep in the coop.

I agree with Aart. Sometimes you can mix chicks a week or two or even more apart and it is not a big deal, they get along great. Sometimes it is a disaster. For different reasons it's usually easier to introduce more the same age than just one at a time. Since you are only adding four total I'd be kind of nervous.

Many of us do what you are talking about regularly. For some of us it is easier than others, but you can do it. We just need to know what you have to work with to give you suggestions that might work for you.

Good luck!