Can't they all just get along?

[aceintoledo]

For the last two months I've been letting my chicks I got in mid march run the yard with my one year olds, it's not going well. They remain in their individual groups of three and when they do come in contact with each other it's always the older ones pecking the young ones. The only time the young ones can come anywhere near the older ones is if the older ones are occupied with some treats I threw out in the grass. My biggest concern was I'm running out of time for them to get along in the older hens coop before the younger ones start laying eggs in their temporary dog kennel. Enter biggest concern, I found an egg on the floor while cleaning out the dog kennel! Should I just roll the dice, put them all in the big coop and hope I don't wake up to a dead chicken? Will they just work things out on their own? Help!

 

[HEChicken]

I have found that in general, groups that were brooded together continue to be more closely bonded than they are to other groups. While the flock may at times *look* like a cohesive flock, once you know the individual birds as I do, I can tell that any time a pair or trio split off from the main flock, they are birds who originally brooded together.

You haven't mentioned how much space they have. I've found that the more space there is, the fewer integration issues there are. Also, since the birds/groups highest in the pecking order will try to keep the lower ranking birds away from feed/water, having multiple feed/water stations set up goes a long way to order and harmony in the coop.

There is no one good answer to your question. If the new girls are close to laying age, that means they must also be close in size to the older girls, which is a good time to fully integrate. But, it can't hurt to add additional feeders and waterers to help the transition.

 

[aceintoledo]

The coop is 5x5x6 with a 10x5 run, they also are able to run the backyard almost every day. You mentioned adding extra watering and feeding stations, should I install an extra roosting bar as well?

 

[HEChicken]

Another roosting bar won't hurt but if it isn't at the same level as the original roost, it may not get used much either. Generally, they all want to roost as high as they can get so if you have roosts on different levels, the lower ones won't be popular.

Coop space may be an issue for you. At 5x5, you have 25 sq ft of coop space. 4 sq ft per bird is the minimum recommendation, so you have a good coop space for 6 birds.

For the run, the recommendation is 10 sq ft per bird so at 10x5, or 50 sq ft, you have enough space for 5. Since they are running in the backyard most of the time, I wouldn't be concerned about the run, unless they have to be locked into it for extended periods of time. However if you have more than 6 in the coop, your pecking/integration issues may be caused by over-crowding. When coop space is limited, the older/original birds will guard their territory quite fiercely. Do you have more than 6? Is expansion an option?

 

[aceintoledo]

We have six hens, 3 1 yr old, 3 14 wk old. The 5x5 coop is elevated with the 5x5 run and access to the 5x5 space under the coop, this outdoor space is always available to the hens. I'm installing another roosting bar so as not to make that an issue. What should I do about the food, the 14 week olds aren't done with their finisher grow. Are they old enough now to just start them on the layer feed like the others?

 

[HEChicken]

It would be better to feed the whole flock the grower and put calcium (oyster shell, recycled egg shell etc) out on the side for the layers.