Magpyeone
Chirping
So I’ve tried integrating four of my oldest chicks (about 10 weeks) with my four existing, 3 yr. old hens, 2 Americanas and 2 Dominiques. I kept the younger ones in a large dog crate next to the coop during the day for about a week, then we put them together and crossed our fingers. Of course, things didn’t go very well. All the older hens chased and pecked at the smaller ones, but one Dominique in particular was very aggressive (which I thought strange, since the Americanas are the top of our little pecking order), and I started seeing beak damage/blood on my younger chicks, so I put the problem hen in ‘chicken jail’ for a few days, but it made no difference. The smaller chicks wouldn’t go near the food or watering stations, which the hens continually circled, so we added extra food and watering stations in the areas where the chicks tended to congregate/hide. We decided to try pinless peepers on the 4 hens. Initially they still tried to chase the younger chicks, but couldn’t seem to successfully peck or harm them. The younger ones still avoid the older hens, but everyone is eating, drinking and roosting, which is good. My concern is, I have 3 5-week old chicks, one of which is an Americana Rooster (he was a ‘surprise’), and another 3 chicks that are 1-3 weeks old in another brooder. Can I keep the peepers on the hens throughout this integration process? I feel like if I took them off today, we’d be back in the same boat, and I’ve heard of people leaving them on for months, but I don’t know if that’s humane? Our brooders aren’t very big and the chicks are outgrowing them too quickly, but I’m afraid they’re still too small to go in with the larger birds...