Combining two groups of chickens - I can't take the stress!!!

[GratefulHarvest]

Hi. I am new to this community. Thanks so much for this post and all the responses. Even though I just got really nervous when I read it.

I have 9 laying hens and 2 rather aggressive roosters. And... I got chicks this year so I have 32 3 month old chicks. The adults are totally free range ( I also live on 5 acres of mostly wooded property). The chicks are in a large run from sun up til 5 or 6 pm. The coop I partitioned so they are all together at night.

There are probably about 8-10 cockerels in the group. I plan to keep 3.
The older chickens and the chicks have never been together though they have a lot of exposure to each other. esp at night in the coop, if that matters. They are separated by chicken wire, but they are still together.

they are
a pair of Jersey Giants
7 ISO pullets
4 white leghorn pullets
4 buff orp pullets
7 americaunas straight run ( think I only have 1 hen)
6 gold lace wyandottes (mostly hens I think)
4 road island red (3 are roosters)

I am in for great chicken tribulation?

 

[currycat]

Not everyone. We love having a roo, they are SO protective. We're on a hill above the Columbia River and have eagles, hawks, vultures and herons that hunt allover this area. Our roo calls all the hens and gets them under something if he sees any of them flying over, it's funny though when he does it for a little single engine plane. They will fight till their dead to protect their hens.

 

[currycat]

If you have very aggressive roo's there are some really good posts on here about how to deal with them. You should not let them be aggressive with you, that could be dangerous.

 

[fiefs20]

Fiefs20,
How do you introduce them? I have 6-12 week olds that have been in the big coop with the other hens (but in a separate space) where they can see each other, for two weeks now. I think the time has come to join the two groups, but when I've let the younger ones out, a couple of the older hens constantly charge them. I understand that they will get pecked from time to time, and I'm good with that, but these two hens that I'm talking about are relentless. Any thoughts??

After they've all gone to bed and its nice and dark I put my new members in with the flock in the coop. They don't seem to really take notice of the new members since they're busy trying to sleep. I then wake up extra early the next morning to check on them to see if they're integrating okay. They are usually in two separate groups, but they figure out the pecking order pretty quickly and all is well with in a few days. I've done it this way about 5 times now and it seems to be the best way at introducing new flock members for me. Ive tried other ways but it was too brutal to watch.

 

[DBerryhill]

I also had the best luck introducing new flock members at night after dark. I just walk out and put all the newbies on the closest roost. The next morning there is normally a peck here and there...but it's almost like since they woke up together they accept the others more. I also try to integrate in groups where the new chickens are equal or more on number to the new residents. It seems like my established hens have too many choices to choose who will get pecked and the roosters are just thrilled with a new harem...bit they spread the love so it's less focused on just one or two new members.

 

[Kadjain]

It sounds like your cockerel does not care about first impressions. It's not something you or your hens should have to put up with. If it is stressful for you to watch try to imagine how stressful he is being on the hens. Chances are every new hen you introduce he will relentlessly assert himself in this way until he is satisfied. I would have made soup w him and looked for a mature cock to replace him with. Anyone who says "it's just the way roosters are" or "he will calm down after a while" is inexperienced with cocks. I selectively breed for nice human social roosters and hens and none of my cocks assert themselves w extreme behavior like that. I have a cockerel I was thinking of added to a breeding program but now that he is becoming sexually mature he is relentless with my Khaki Campbell ducks and constantly chasing them down and topping them. It's been going on for a few days now and I've had it with him. So I penned him up tonight and tomorrow he is going to be the main ingredient in a delicious chowder I once won third place in a soup competition with.
Dedicated breeders won't put up with behavior like that in their stock and most likely if you search for a good breeder you will get a quality cock with a better temperament.

 

[earlybird10842]

Okay, I have two hens, Middie and Lonely. They are just over a year old, and have been together since hatching. They currently live in a smaller A frame coop/run, and have a few hours a day to free range.

Then, I have my rooster, Cooper, and the two hens he hatched with, Pip and Red. They are 5 months old now. They were given the new coop, with the larger run, that I intended to move all the birds into.

So, for the past couple weeks instead of letting Middie and Lonely free range, I've been putting them in a partition in the large run, so everyone could get used to seeing eachother. Things have been going well that way, so this morning I took the partition down. Coop went after my two older girls, and wouldn't leave them along. I mean, he's trying to mate them, constantly, non-stop. When he does this, Pip starts attacking whoever he's mating. Red pretty much ignores everyone, but periodically comes over to pull at Middie or Lonely's feathers. Eventually Middie and Lonely found a corner they could hide in, and the others left them alone. But if they tried to come out, they got harrassed back into the corner. I couldn't take it anymore, so I took the older girls out, and now they are happily free ranging the yard, the way I like them to be. Oh, I did try letting all the birds out into the yard, figuring more space would help, but Cooper just chased the older girls all over creation. Seriously, he won't let them alone!

I want to know, is this 'normal' behavior when combining different groups of birds? Do I need to just grit my teeth and let my older girls suffer through this? Or is there something I'm doing wrong, somthing else I can try? To complicate matters, I still have two 11 week old chicks, and two 4 week old chicks that will need to be integrated in eventually as well.

I would remove the rooster temporarily from the situation and let the hens work things out among themselves. If he isn't mating them, the only issue will be the pecking.

 

[DimondaleBergs]

Thanks Fiefs20 and DBerryhill!
Last night I put the 6 young hens up on the roost after all the older girls where up there. There was a bit of pecking by the closest of the older group, but after I left, they settled down. When I got up this morning to let them out, everyone seemed content. So far, fingers crossed...

they seem to be doing okay. There has been a little pecking, which I'm okay with...lol, but they seem to be hanging in two separate groups so far today. I guess we will see how it goes if we get any of the storms they are saying we are due this afternoon and they are all going to be in the coop together during daylight hours. lol
Thanks again!

 

[Mary Jo]

I read in the book, "Chickens, Mules, and Two Old Fools," that the best way is to put the extras in the hutch at night, cuddled up to the other chickens. In the morning, they are regarded as having been there the whole time. It's worth a try.

 

[LindaB220]

Hi. I am new to this community. Thanks so much for this post and all the responses. Even though I just got really nervous when I read it.

I have 9 laying hens and 2 rather aggressive roosters. And... I got chicks this year so I have 32 3 month old chicks. The adults are totally free range ( I also live on 5 acres of mostly wooded property). The chicks are in a large run from sun up til 5 or 6 pm. The coop I partitioned so they are all together at night.

There are probably about 8-10 cockerels in the group. I plan to keep 3.
The older chickens and the chicks have never been together though they have a lot of exposure to each other. esp at night in the coop, if that matters. They are separated by chicken wire, but they are still together.

they are
a pair of Jersey Giants
7 ISO pullets
4 white leghorn pullets
4 buff orp pullets
7 americaunas straight run ( think I only have 1 hen)
6 gold lace wyandottes (mostly hens I think)
4 road island red (3 are roosters)

I am in for great chicken tribulation?

Glad to have you. It sounds like you have your hands full. Good luck