Combining My Chickens.

[BWilkins]

I have 14 chickens. 3 are grown ladies (over a year) and 11 are 4 months old (1 rooster, 10 ladies). They're all in the same coop with a chicken wire divider seperating them, so they can see each other all the time but can't get to one another.

There is a very vauge drawing to show the set up of my coop right now.

I need to combine all these guys. I'm wondering what everyone's advice is on how to do this. I know I've heard sneak them in at night, but with how many new ones I'm introducing I worry that would be difficult. Should I just take the divider out at night and when they wake up they'll be together? Should I let them all out in the run together? Any advice or opinons on the matter would be so apperciated. I want to do this right with as little problems as possible. Thank you!!

 

[five is my dog]

i just sneak them in at night. they should be a-ok

 

[Den in Penn]

You already have them familiar with each other, so the pecking will be lessened. You may be able to just remove the wire between them as you thought. I like to let the free range together first, but with your set up it would be difficult.

 

[BWilkins]

I think it would be quite tricky to sneak them in at night, I'd have to build another roost, which I guess I could do. But sneaking in 11 chickens might get noticed.

I can't free range my chickens because my neighbors cats kill them (don't ask...) But I did read somewhere about someone who lets them all out in the run a half hour before they go to roost, cuz as she put it "how much trouble can they cause in a half hour?" Maybe I could do that...

 

[Brandi Leigh]

There is always going to be some fighting when combining chickens. I combined two of my flocks about a month ago and they still seem to keep separate from each other even though the live in the same coop and run.

 

[BWilkins]

They are going crazy attacking each other. The young ones won't leave the coop and when one of them was brave enough to go out in the run the other three ganged up on her and I have no doubt that if my husband hadn't intervened they would have killed her. Any advice on how to help, should I seperate them again? I was thinking of maybe just forcing them all to go outside so the older girls wouldn't be able to gang up because they would be out numbered. I'm thinking about getting anti pecking rings until the bullying stops... I feel so bad for them, I'm starting to feel ill because I'm so stressed out by it....

 

[five is my dog]

you should separate them again.