Can I see your "pullet area" setups?

[Raubkatze]

I currently have the brooder in my run for my pullets to use as their safe space from the hens, which they do. However some of them are getting big enough that I have to keep the doors wide enough that now the smaller of the adult chickens can also get in there. Of course the smallest of my adult hens is also the biggest bully as well.

Would love some suggestions that would allow me to get the brooder out of the run while also still offering a safe space for the kids.

 

[DobieLover]

Start integration at 4 weeks and this becomes a non-issue. Plenty of space, multiple feed and water stations and lots of things to do in the run make integration easy. Even with mean hens. Chicks can outrun and out maneuver hens and get away if they have enough space to do so.
I currently have a flock of 17 hens varying in size from 1.25# to 8.15# and aged just over a year to over 7 years old integrated with ten 8-week olds and four 5-week olds. No problems.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Start integration at 4 weeks and this becomes a non-issue. Plenty of space, multiple feed and water stations and lots of things to do in the run make integration easy. Even with mean hens. Chicks can outrun and out maneuver hens and get away if they have enough space to do so.
I currently have a flock of 17 hens varying in size from 1.25# to 8.15# and aged just over a year to over 7 years old integrated with ten 8-week olds and four 5-week olds. No problems.

THIS^

I started at 3 weeks with a few of my chicks and it was the smoothest integration I've ever done.

 

[nuthatched]

I brood in the coop, once they out grow their brooder, they're pretty much integrated.

 

[rosemarythyme]

OP you don't mention how old your pullets are - makes a difference because panic openings really don't work past 8 weeks or so due to the chicks being too large. Also you'd need more clutter https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140 to provide shelter than just the brooder.

Not a one upping contest but I start as early as 10 days with hopes of completing integration (with cooping together as last step) at 4-5 weeks.

This is the brooder at around the 2-3 weeks old mark. You can see the gaps on either side that allow the chicks to run in and out. Yes I've had hens cram themselves into there, but because there's TWO exit points the chicks can escape. All clutter/hiding spots should be placed or constructed with at least 2 avenues of escape.

Some more clutter, note that I cut open a side exit on the food area to the right.

 

[Raubkatze]

OP you don't mention how old your pullets are - makes a difference because panic openings really don't work past 8 weeks or so due to the chicks being too large. Also you'd need more clutter https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140 to provide shelter than just the brooder.

Not a one upping contest but I start as early as 10 days with hopes of completing integration (with cooping together as last step) at 4-5 weeks.

This is the brooder at around the 2-3 weeks old mark. You can see the gaps on either side that allow the chicks to run in and out. Yes I've had hens cram themselves into there, but because there's TWO exit points the chicks can escape. All clutter/hiding spots should be placed or constructed with at least 2 avenues of escape.

View attachment 4158149
View attachment 4158150

Some more clutter, note that I cut open a side exit on the food area to the right.
View attachment 4158152

They are right at the 8 week mark, and some of them are absolutely massive for their age. You would think I was raising meat chickens, not egg layers. This was more what I was asking. They are absolutely terrified of the hens, and will run "screaming" for their safe area if the hens start to get near them. In their defense, the first couple of days of integration were a bit rougher than I had expected, despite having them in the run inside the brooder for a little over a week.

I did not brood them inside of the run because up until this weekend I only had one power point in my coop, so I had no way of powering the brooder plate.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Not a one upping contest but I start as early as 10 days with hopes of completing integration (with cooping together as last step) at 4-5 weeks.

Do you start by penning them in the coop at night? Or do you just have plenty of roost/floor space for the newbies to find a safe spot away from the bigger birds?

 

[sals_chicks]

I do my integrations differently, but have had good success also.

I have a penned in area in my chicken run (I will grab a photo later today) where the babies are in the run with the flock, but completely safe from them. I bring them out to this space around 4-5 weeks. They spend 2 weeks inside that space, everyone can see each other, etc...

Then I start supervised visits in my larger chicken yard around 6-7 weeks. By this point they are a little bigger, less baby-sized, and normally I dont have any excessive bullying. I like to wait to this point just because I like them to be closer to full grown than baby-sized. Personally, I feel my older hens tend to be more aggressive toward smaller babies.

They are typically fully integrated, living and roosting together by about 8-9 weeks old.