Best Integration Methods?

[Table4Six]

Lest anyone get confused or mislead:
True quarantine is not any part of integration...
...quarantine should happen out of sight and far away from main flock.

Thank you for the clarification, I definitely understand the difference.

 

[Table4Six]

Can you split your coop and run for look no touch?
Are you at all concerned with quarantine to reduce chance of pests and disease transmission?

Here's my notes, use 'em if they help.
Best of cLuck!!

Consider biological/medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article
BYC 'quarantine' search

Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

This used to be a better search, new format has reduced it's efficacy, but still:
Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading, BUT some info is outdated IMO:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

Great info, thank you so much!

 

[WindingRoad]

I do what I call “Drop Integration” where I just add the new bird or birds to the flock and let them work it out. It’s worked just fine for me and I’ve done it with 4 birds all added separately. Even with a look no touch integration the birds will squabble when they are physically together. It takes about 2 weeks for the flock to accept the newcomer.
The birds that I have drop integrated were all 5+ months of age. I wouldn’t integrate any bird under 3 months of age with this method.

That's how I did. I had a BO and ISAB. About 18 months old. Grew up together. Got along fine. No pecking order. And I put my 2 SLW right in with them. My ISAB became the head chicken. And still is. She is slowly getting better. And the 2 SLW just stay out of her way. I check crops every night and my 2 SLW always have full crops. IDK.

 

[NNYchick]

I love the look your silkie roo is giving the serama pullet in the second pic so cute!

Me too. I think he is thinking- "Hmm.. I do not remember your Mother"

 

[Aunt Angus]

I do think breed plays a big part but I recently add 4 seramas hen/pullets in with my silkies. Quarantine was worst than intergration, the serama hens bullied the pullets and the poor girls are missing so tail feathers. When I put the seramas in the coop I had my husband install higher roost as the seramas fly and the silkies don't but it wasn't needed. I put them in and they went over to the water, feeder and then started dust bathing and within in minutes the silkies joined then in the dust, I guess in chicken world a family that grooms together stays together It was just another day in the neighbor hood no bickering at all.

I love last pic! It's like they are saying, "Sup" to each other!


I guess it just goes to show that it helps to really know your birds so that your can respond to their behaviors.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. I'm thinking about integrating some new pullets in spring. It's been helpful to read different ideas. Thanks for asking, @Table4Six !

 

[Table4Six]

I love last pic! It's like they are saying, "Sup" to each other!


I guess it just goes to show that it helps to really know your birds so that your can respond to their behaviors.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. I'm thinking about integrating some new pullets in spring. It's been helpful to read different ideas. Thanks for asking, @Table4Six !

No problem I’m glad we could both benefit from this thread.

 

[BReeder!]

See but don't touch didn't exactly work as I desired. I now have two small co-existing flocks it seems. I had 5 chickens we purchased as day old chicks in March. In July (I think) we purchased 2 more chicks. The original 5 developed a pecking order early on and all get along as a flock. The 2 we added later were introduced at 8 weeks old to the flock via a dog kennel placed in the run. They lived in the kennel with a box as a small coop for about a week. Then we would let them out under supervision only for about another week. After that they were put into the coop with the original 5. The youngest 2 are at the bottom of the pecking order. They stick together always, but are not allowed to intermingle much with the others. Our top hen, a very large Cuckoo Marans we named A'hole (pronounced with some Latin flare to prevent my toddler from say "A-hole" to people: ay-hole-ay), enforces the pecking order. Often the younger 2 hens are found sleeping in a nest box simply because they were not allowed on a roost. I'm hoping our new setup with multiple roosts will help with that...

 

[aart]

The youngest 2 are at the bottom of the pecking order. They stick together always, but are not allowed to intermingle much with the others.

Not unusual...the younger birds won't enter the main pecking order until they start laying.
Even then they may stay a 'sub-flock'.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

We now have three sub flocks within one larger flock. Started with 5, 4 mo old pullets and a roo and introduced 30, 1 mo old pullets/cockerels/ducklings/keets in adjoining pen (look don’t touch). After one month, allowed them to mix, removed young cockerels and drakes. I was surprised that even after a month of look and don’t touch, the older birds were pretty mean to the younger, 2 mo old ones. We kept splitting and integrating, with full integration at 3 months old. We just added two more 5 mo old pullets to this group that is now about 7 and 10 months old. Started with one week of “look don’t touch”, then accidentally left a door open and mixed all together. Same older pullets (now 10 mo) that were mean before are still mean to the newer pullets. One new pullet is getting along well, but one is still picked on and hides a lot (many places to get out of sight). Older pullets still only hang out with each other and their roo. Same with each group; they prefer to hang out with their broodmates. We did accidentally integrate a new roo into this mix - the earlier maturing roos weren’t tolerated by the older roo and were removed when they started crowing. One roo (an Ameraucana) from the second group was a very delayed developer and has been tolerated by the older roo.

 

[BReeder!]

We hatched a set of local backyard mixes to start, then wanted some pure bred chickens, ducks and guineas so that’s how we ended up with so many new young birds! The coop and run were split and the older birds had one half and the new, 1 month babies another half. They had the split coop until babies were two months, then we started letting them all out to free range together, then letting them spend more and more time together until there was no separation when babies were 3 months. Soooo, it was a slow 2 month integration. The hens (really just older pullets) were pretty mean and even now, still put the newer pullets, cockerel, ducks and guineas in their place; they were not overwhelmed by all those youngsters! The rooster (older cockerel) mostly just ignored the youngsters until they started laying, but he sometime followed the hens in pecking the younger birds around food or roosting time. I ended up being the roosting referee for awhile, getting older birds on one side and new birds on another, or the older pullets would terrorize the younger. I am back to roost referee since adding the two youngest (5 mo) pullets a few weeks ago.

Do you have a multi level roost or just one level? I have found that my new two level roost is better than my old roost, which was a single 8ft board. The reason is that the higher on the pecking order, the higher on the roost. 1 long roost meant that my two younger hens got kicked off the roost or were stuck at the end near a construction mesh mesh wall that nobody wanted to be by in cold or wet weather. My new roost (in our new coop) is 2 levels with 4 total branches. It's sorta wonky shaped, so here's a pic. I built it to allow for more space in the coop for humans to move around while also providing more roosting options for the birds. The distance form the chicken wire on the left to wall on the right is 4ft. The chickens have only used it since Sunday, but it works well. Our top chicken is a BIG Cuckoo Marans named A'hole due to her attitude. She immediately claimed her spot in the top right looking out over the other hens (we have 7 total right now).