Chicks not roosting

[NCChickie]

I have 2 flocks that I'm trying to intergrate. Once was hatched feb. 24th (14 hens) and one hatched feb 18th (16 hens 1 roo). They are now approximalty 2 months old. Up until a week ago they spent their time in 2 separate "pens" in the garage right next to each other. Last week their coop and run was completed and I moved them in with wire between them and each flock having their own roost. After a day I took down the wire and the older flock turned into bullies! Up went the wire and I added one "bully" to the "wimps" side every day until 7 had been added to the "wimp" flock. Today I took the wire down. Everyone seems to be getting along BUT the younger flock is on the ground sleeping while the bullies have taken both roosts.

My question are..... at this point do I let them sort it out? Will the wimps take up roosting? Should I put the wire back up?

TIA

Lisa

 

[SIMZ]

If it were me I'd leave them alone as long as the worst of the bullying has stopped. (Great way to handle that, by the way!) My chicks about that age had been roosting for weeks in their temporary garage pen and went back to huddling on the floor when they moved into the big outside coop. They'll catch on eventually and sort it all out as long as you have enough roost space for everyone. That's key!

 

[Mini Farmer]

My chicks piled in a corner of their coop every night until they were almost 19 weeks old. I thought for sure the whole bunch was just "special." One day, one of them figured it out, and the next evening, everyone was roosting as if they'd been doing it their entire lives. I suspect that if you wait it out, they'll work it out. They're good like that!

 

[Cknldy]

Go in at dusk when they are bedding down for the night and place a few of the ones from the floor on the roosts. So long as there is enough roosts and spacing the others should catch on too. Like when chicks start drinking water or find a bug- once one figures it out the rest usually follow