Chick integration while free ranging

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Hello,

We have 10 - 10 week old chickens that free range. They were kept in a enclosed area but once they ate all the vegetation they started flying over so we decided to start free ranging since we have 40 acres of deep woods and we’re in constant battle with the growth we decided let’s have the chickens battle it for us!
However we now have 9 new chicks that are about 2 weeks old. The last time we added chicks into the bunch ours were only a week older and we put them right in the outdoor brooder but didn’t start letting them out into the enclosure until around 6 weeks.

How do I add in new chicks now that mine our free ranging and older? I’m worried since all the vegetation is gone inside the enclosure they are prime targets for hawks/owls/snakes. It’s under tree cover but we’ve spotted owls flying through the tree cover during the day.

We also killed a cotton mouth the other day that was massive and found one of her babies in the enclosure area although it was much too small to do anything to the older chicks.

Do I just lock everyone into the enclosure and lock out any who jump the fence??
We have 1 daddy cockerel who is massive compared to the other 5 cockerels in the group and 4 Pullets. All the new chicks are Pullets.

Were in the screening in process of our large 12x6 coop so the 10 chickens are still being locked up into the outdoor brooder at night so we wouldn’t be able to separate them at night were they to all be outside.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would add hideouts, pallets on bricks, or leaned against the wall, and multiple feed stations placed so that birds eating at one station, cannot see birds at a different station.

I would lock out the old girls letting them free range - add water and a feeder if you need to outside the set up. Lock in the new chicks. If you spend a couple of nights, having chicks sleep in a cardboard box before you do this, it will help. Put that cardboard box on its side in the run, and at dark, the new chicks will go to it, and you can lift it up and put it some where safe. Do this for a couple of days. This will let the chicks explore a bigger area, find hideouts, (I even give them mock chases) and get comfortable without the big ones chasing them.

Then after several days - let the big ones in in the late afternoon. There might be some bluster, and I would expect the chicks to give way, and scurry to hideouts. But the urge to get into the coop, will take over, and most of the drama will be done.

After a bit, I just put the box with the chicks in the coop. I don't lock them in the box. If you want, make the opening so that the chicks can get in easily, but the bigger girls can't.

Hideouts, and clutter are your friends, but as no one is laying yet, I don't think this will be a real big deal with most of them. There might be an evil one or two, if so, pull them out.

Mrs K