Chick Integration causing us (and them!) stress! :(

[chickarita]

We have a small backyard flock of 5 1+ year old hens (2 Orp, 2 BR, 1 RIR). We recently bought 3 EE chicks who are now about 9 weeks old and waaaay too big to still be living in the house. The weather is nice enough now in MA that they can live outside, but I'm having trouble integrating them. They have free ranged in the yard a little together and it was okay - the big girls chased them a little but nothing terrible. Last night we put them in the run at night after the big girls had gone to sleep. This morning I heard a kerfuffle and found the babies huddled in the corner, trying to hide and one with a small blood spot on her growing comb.
Suggestions? Our coop is 4x4 with an 8x4 run underneath so it's hard to section a part off. We let them range whenever we are home.
Why can't we all just get along????

 

[donrae]

The littles are too big to be in the house, I agree, but they're too young to be in with the big girls. It's best to wait until the young ones are roughly the same size, around 4 months.

I think no matter what, you're way overcrowding your birds in that size coop and run. Coop is 16 square feet and you're putting 8 birds in there, that's too crowded. Run is 32 square feet, still way too crowded for 8 birds. Your run is the size your coop should be for that many birds, and your run should be a minimum of 80 square feet. Free ranging can offset some, but unless they only use the area to sleep you're inviting behavioral issues like pecking and cannibalism. In this small area, your new chicks just have no where to go to get away from the big girls. You need a larger space or to get rid of some birds, sorry.

 

[chickarita]

They do only sleep in the coop, even in the winter they are usually in the run. And all but winter they are out in a 1/4 acre. But we have def talked of expanding the set-up nonetheless. But thanks for the advice!

 

[donrae]

But even in the winter, that run is half the minimum size for that many birds. Add in bad weather where they'll want to be taking shelter....I seriously think you're setting yourself up for behavior issues.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I strongly agree with donrae. Overcrowding is really going to set you up for heartbreak. You'll get cannibalism over the winter. If you need a concrete example, I thought my hen house could handle 90 birds--after all, they have a 75' x 125' pasture, and books said it was big enough. But in the winter, they didn't go outside. And first we had feather picking. Then we had blood. Then we had a pullet dead from having her spine pecked out. This was many years ago, and it was a terrible lesson to learn. We promptly sold half the hens after that pullet was killed, and the problems stopped immediately.

Now we have only 75 chickens in that space, and we have no cannibalism at all.

Donrae's also right about integrating your chicks. They're too little and can't defend themselves and need more space to get away from the hens. Better yet, they need a pen of their own.

 

[Mrs. K]

It is funny how the wrong number in you set up will add tension to the flock, and the problem with chicks is they get bigger. I free range a lot during the summer, about 14 hours per day, so I cheat on the numbers, but usually a large part of those numbers are chicks. But it is amazing how by fall, as the chicks start growing, how you can feel the tensions rise in the set up. In the winter time, they spend more time very close together, mine are often roosting by 4:00pm and will stay there until 7:00 the following morning.

But as to your original post. Chickens in a flock, tend to get along. Adding chickens that are full size will work fairly easily, but there will be some scuffling as they sort it out. Adding chicks without a broody hen won't work, they will be pecked unmercifully. You have to wait.

However, I am rather surprised that your original 5 got along well in that small of an area.

Mrs k

 

[chickarita]

When we originally built it, we used dimensions recommended but it sounds like there is disagreement! The girls get along great - never blood or fighting, even through the winter. A few feathers picked as they jockey over the nesting box (girls, we built 3, use all of them!)
In any event, we will expand. I put the little girls back in their big dog crate and they're fine. They all free range together. We'll wait longer to integrate. Thanks!