Chicken integration; follow up question

[Sarynda]

Hi all,

A couple of weeks ago I posted here about temporary housing for my new chickens for integration purposes. I've bought a wire dog crate and my new chickens (brahmas) have been living in there since last week Wednesday. Both them and my chickens have been vaccinated so I've not done quarantine, I accept the risks.

My question. I've been letting out the new girls a few hours before sundown since last Tuesday. The first evening the new girls pecked my girls (a Brahma and three silkies) a few times to assert dominance. Ever since, if I let the new girls out, my girls run off. They don't hide, just avoid the new ones. If they get near, they might get pecked. Sometimes they're startled enough at being near that they run off themselves.

There's no chasing. No feathers being pulled. Just mine running off when the new ones get near. The new ones still go back to their crate at night, by themselves. Mine get to eat (food station outside and one in the coop) and drink without being disturbed.

Is it time to let the new girls out all the time? And do I leave their crate for now or do I pop them in the coop, risking stress and perhaps injury in the morning? The coop has an automatic door so everyone should be able to escape.

I'm grateful for any advice.

 

[ChickQueen77]

are they bantams?

 

[Ridgerunner]

It sounds like your new ones are more mature than your old ones. It is normal that less mature chickens avoid more mature chickens because they are likely to get pecked if they get too close. What you describe sounds perfectly normal and it sounds like it is going well.

Is it time to let the new girls out all the time? And do I leave their crate for now or do I pop them in the coop, risking stress and perhaps injury in the morning? The coop has an automatic door so everyone should be able to escape.

How many chickens do you have in each group and how big is the coop? How much room they have is very important, crowding can cause problems.

I generally let mine roam together in the run for over a week to prove to me that they can get along before I move them into the main coop. The coop needs to be big enough that the groups can still stay separated in there. I generally find my young ones on the roosts well above the older ones when I go down there in the morning to let them out. They have room to stay separated.

What time does that auto door open? The chickens are going to wake up at sunrise.

 

[ChickQueen77]

if your new chickens are bigger then your other ones the older ones will run away. I have 6 year old Barred Rock hens and I had 6 month old Lemon Cuckoo niederrheiner pullets and they are bigger then my barred rocks and the rocks were scared of them

 

[Sarynda]

@ChickQueen77 just the silkies. The brahmas are the big ones.

@Ridgerunner yeah I forgot to mention, mine are 22 weeks and the new ones are 30 weeks. My group is 4 and I have 2 new ones. They have plenty of room, I built it all for at least 6 brahmas. There's one roost but it's long enough for them to be seperate. It's more than 6 feet (I'm Dutch, it's 1.80m). The door opens at sunrise. I can keep the crate in for another week no problem. Should I remove the sectioned off piece of the run so they're always together?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Should I remove the sectioned off piece of the run so they're always together?

You can, just observe and see how it goes.

 

[Mrs. K]

This could be a little tricky, older birds, bigger sizes coming into the coop.

Some people can get full size birds and bantam birds to get along, some cannot. Make sure there is ways for any bird to move away and get out of sight.

 

[Sarynda]

This could be a little tricky, older birds, bigger sizes coming into the coop.

Some people can get full size birds and bantam birds to get along, some cannot. Make sure there is ways for any bird to move away and get out of sight.

Yes there is enough room and the run is full with bushes and some trees so everyone can hide. The new big ones aren't chasing the littles and I already have one big one, the original four grew up together.

I was hoping they'd become one flock at some point. Is that possible and how long would that take?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was hoping they'd become one flock at some point. Is that possible and how long would that take?

Generally once all birds are laying that should smooth out about as much as it will.