Another "integrating new birds to flock" question

[coopercasey]

Hi there, New to BYC and new to backyard chickens in general. I got 6 chickens last fall (lost one to a hawk) and the 5 I have now (2 Black Atros and 3 Buff Orps) are thriving and awesome! My current coop is just big enough for 6-8 chickens and I just got 5 more chicks (9 weeks old today - 2 barred rocks, 2 RI reds, and an Americana). To add my chicks to the established flock would wind up being too many for the existing coop. I was thinking about “adding on” to the existing coop but I think it would be an enormous project. So, I was thinking that putting a separate coop in the pen (next to the existing coop) would be my next solution. Would having 2 coops be weird? Would having the 2 coops also cause my current flock and my 5 new chicks to stay separated (and possibly fight)? Any ideas from you “seasoned chickenears” on what I might do? BTW - the existing pen should be plenty big for all 10 chickens.

Thanks!

 

[kidd42]

I just added 15 new chicks to my 2 year old flock of layers. I am in the process of finishing off the new bigger coop this weekend. Here is what I did from advice from folks here. My 15 new chicks are of different ages, some Banties, some standard size with Silkies in the mix. There were 4 Leghorns and a Austalorpe that were about a week or so older then the others in the group. At around 6 weeks I moved the older 5 out to my coop in a large dog carrier, they lived in this in the coop for 2 weeks, then I moved them to a partioned off area of the coop for a week. This was so the older girls could get used to them being there. The day I moved them into the coop, things went smooth until bed time, when the younger girls went inside first and took all the prime roosting spot's. After being chased off the roost and out the door a few times, everyone settled in for the night and all was peaceful. This still goes on at bed time, and every now and then the older girls will put the younger ones in their place and remind them of the pecking order. But here is the kicker, even though they are coexisting together, they are most certainly two seperate flocks when they are out free ranging. I will be moving a Barred Rock and 2 RIR chicks into the flock this weekend.

My plans are to move all the standard size hens and pullets into the new bigger coop on Sunday, and keep the Banties and Silkies in the old smaller coop. People have said that things go very smooth when you move them into a new coop when you add more birds. They don't have an "assigned" roosting spot and will settle in better.

 

[coopercasey]

Ok. So what you are saying is that I should NOT use 2 coops? I am thinking that would be kinda weird. How old are/were your chicks when you started this process? Did you say 6 weeks old?? Mine are 9 weeks now and I was going to wait till they were about the same size (basically full grown) before I introduced them to my existing flock. I do take them out and put them in a run next to my existing flock now so they can get used to each other.

Thanks for your help!

 

[7L Farm]

If having two coops is weird I'm double weird. I have 4. I only have 2 chicken coops though the other coops are for quail. Anyway, I pretty much have two separate flocks. The second coop is the offspring of my original flock. I don't want to interbreed so what I do is let mom & dad out at 9 am & then put them up around 4 Pm & then let the kids out till dark. The first flock consist of 11 hens & one roo. The second flock consist of 24 pullets & hopefully not sure yet 6 cocks. I'm only gonna keep 2 cocks though.

 

[coopercasey]

Thank you 7Lfarm. So the "kids" know that they have their own separate coop and don't go into the other coop right?

 

[mrsp523]

Quote:
I too am wondering how others have done with this, we are getting a 2nd coop set up for the young group and hoping they goto the correct coop so they dont get beat up. In the Fall we plan on putting them all in one coop for the winter.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
I too am wondering how others have done with this, we are getting a 2nd coop set up for the young group and hoping they goto the correct coop so they dont get beat up. In the Fall we plan on putting them all in one coop for the winter.

Yep!! They have been in their coop since they were one week old. Their around 9 weeks old now. They don't roam to far from the coop yet. But they for sure no where they live. Here they are at around 1 week.

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

We have done something similar to these suggestions. When my 8 5-week-olds outgrew their brooder, we were not in a position to build a new coop. So My husband screened off the space underneath the nesting boxes, which are about 3 ft off the floor of the coop. My 6 1-year-olds rarely used that space, so it did not cut down on their floor space (our girls live exclusively indoors).
Now the peeps have a load of space to grow, and they are only seperated by chicken wire. They are getting a chance to "see" each other and become acquainted without putting anyone in jeopardy.
My plan is to build an outdoor run, before they are integrated fully, as our indoor coop is not large enough to accommodate all 14 of them. I have heard that space issues can be the most significant in success in integration.
When the time comes to allow them to mingle, I am considering just leaving a small opening, thru which the babies can travel, but is too small for the Big Girls. That way the peeps can escape them if things get too brutal.
Now, to decide how old they should be before I allow them to mix...At the moment, I am going to allow their size to determine when. When they outgrow their current space, it will have to be time!
Thanks for all the ideas on this. It has been weighing on my mind for a while.

Bright Blessings!

 

[coopercasey]

Thank you all for your suggestions and experiences. Here's what's happened and going to happen. I have been putting the chicks (now 8-9 weeks old) in a separate fenced area outside next to a fenced area where my grown flock roams. I have been giving my grown flock snacks next to the pen where I keep the chicks (during the day). The grown flock seems to be very used to the chicks now so I am going to integrate them into the flock soon by putting them in coop which is in a smaller run. This will be done in the morning after the grown flock is out and about killin' worms. I will be in the pen with them while they are in the coop and will let nature take it's course. I will do this for a day or two (for a few hours at a time) and see how it goes. If all goes well then I will leave them overnight.

Wish me luck!

BTW - I also just installed a much bigger coop so all should have plenty of room.