adding to my flock

[MamaBrahma2]

I have 2 brahmas that are in a coop at night but free range during the day. I have 2, 7 week old silver laced whyndottes that I want to put outside with my older ones soon. Not sure what age I can put them with my older ones without getting badly pecked. And how long should I keep them locked up before I can let the little ones free range with the big girls? I know lots of questions, thanks!

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:
I would say wait at least until they get to the same size. The older the better in this case. You could put them in the coop without letting the big girls get to them and introduce them that way, slowly.

 

[TayFray!]

well, like they said put them in when they are relatively the same size, age doesn't really matter becuase the chickens dont know that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

At seven weeks they should have fully feathered out, so supplemental heat is not an issue. From that viewpoint, they can go out now.

At what age can you put them out without them getting badly pecked? That depends on a lot of things, mainly how much space you have and the individual personalities of your chickens. Each chicken has a specific personality and you are dealing with living animals. You cannot adequately predict what any specific individual will do.

Some pecking is going to happen. Chickens are social animals and can live peacefully as long as each animal knows where it stands in the pecking order. Unfortunately like cattle in a herd or wolves in a pack, they determine that social position by physical intimidation and occasionally fighting. And, in the case of chickens, they reinforce and defend their social position by pecking when their personal space is invaded and they feel a need to reinforce their position.

You also have integration to worry about. This is a different issue than pecking order. This is where the chickens accept the other chickens as part of the flock. Some flocks have chickens in them that will seek out and destroy any new weaker chicken. I've had a lot more than two chickens and I have never had one of these in my flock, but some people have these. It is usually a hen, not a rooster, but it could be either. If you have one of these, it makes life a lot more difficult. This is the personality trait that is most risky.

Mature chickens are automatically higher in the pecking order than immature chickens. That is going to be the case with yours. Maturity matters a lot. As long as you don't have a "seek out and destroy" hen, what I would expect to happen is that the young ones immediately recognize that the older chickens are their superiors and the young ones will do all they can to avoid the older. The older will probably ignore the younger unless the younger invade their personal space. Then they will peck the younger to remind them it is against chicken etiquette for them to invade that personal space. The younger ones will run away and the older ones will again ignore them. That peck is not meant to injure the younger chicken but only to discipline it. However, it is a hard peck. It can cause injury. I have never had that happen, but other people on this forum have posted that it has caused a problem, especially with younger chicks. The big danger with this is that the chick does not have room to run away or it gets caught against a fence or in a corner and cannot get away. Then the older considers this a challenge to its social position and goes all out to enforce its superior position. Space to avoid these confrontations and room to get away are extremely important.

I've had broodies raise chicks with the flock and wean the chicks at 4 weeks old. Those chicks are accepted members of the flock. Mama has handled integration issues. However, these chicks are definitely at the bottom of the pecking order. Mama cannot handle that for them. They have to grow up and handle that for themselves. My point in this is that 4 week old chicks can be fully integrated in the flock. They don't have to wait until they are 16 weeks old. But the younger they are the bigger risk they are at if they have to handle integration on their own. With a lot of people, especially if space is tight, 16 weeks is probably a pretty good choice.

The way I do it is that I raise the chicks in a brooder in the coop as soon as they come out of the incubator. At 4 to 5 weeks they are fully feathered out and I take them out of the brooder, but I keep them separated from the flock. They can still see each other, just not get at each other. At 8 weeks, I start letting the younger ones free range. The first week I alternate, the older ones one day and the younger ones the next. That is just to get the young ones used to free ranging. I wait until they are 8 weeks old because I think they are less hawk attractors at that age. I'm probably being over protective since 4 week olds raised by a broody do OK on their own, but Mama has taught them how to take care of themselves. Then I start letting them all free range together. They initially sleep in separate quarters but by 12 weeks age they are sleeping in the same coop. I could probably get to that point faster but I am probably over-cautious.

Some things that might help you if you can manage it. That will depend on your set-up and individual conditions. You may not be able to manage several of these.

1. House them side by side but separated by wire for at least a week. Throw some scratch or treats on the ground so they get used to each other. What you will probably see is that the older ones show curiosity in the younger ones for an hour or two but them seem to ignore them. They don't really totally ignore them after those first couple of hours. They are just getting used to them.

2. When you first let them free range together let the young ones out an hour or two before dark so you can observe them and be prepared to intervene if necessary.

3. Provide separate sleeping accommodations for the first week or so if you can. I find mine are most brutal in protecting their pecking order rights on the roosts. And make sure you have plenty of roost space so the younger ones can avoid the older hens on the roosts.

4. Provide separate eating and drinking places. The dominant ones will possibly not allow the younger to eat or drink as part of the intimidation process. Providing separate eating and drinking stations will help ease these confrontations.

5. For the first week or so that they are sleeping together, open the pop door as soon as they wake up. You don't want them locked in too tight a space where they cannot get away if things turn bad. What I normally see is that the younger ones stay on the roosts while the older ones are on the coop floor. The younger ones know not to challenge the older and just try to stay out of the way.

I don't know your coop size. That could be a problem. But since you free range yours, you have a lot better chance of an easy integration than those who are cramped for space. Sometimes this process goes so well that you wonder what all the fuss was about, but sometimes it turns deadly. I sure hope yours is the first case. Good luck!!!