Do I really have to keep chicks in brooder for 6 weeks?

[GardenJen77]

Sounds like you need some more room before you try integrating anything again. It appears that the submissive ones weren't able to get away from the others. It will help if you can also put some hiding places in the run for the others. Pallets or plywood against the fence (but open on both ends so a bird can't get trapped), more roosts in the run so the others can get up out of the way.

These are free ranging chickens, they have 1 acre that we live on, to roam, plus 40 acres of pasture to roam. PLENTY of room.

 

[GardenJen77]

Unfortunately that seems to be the way it works. It isn't good enough to know they are higher in the order, some feel the need to reinforce that notion even when there has been no challenge.

@bobbi-j has a good point regarding space. Was there enough for the existing hens and the ones you were trying to integrate? Did they have access to "safe places"? If not, you will have the same problem with the ISAs. Did you have multiple food and water "stations"? Also, was it ALL the existing chickens that were attacking or only specific ones?

I really would try to get the young ones out there while they are still small and much less likely to be seen as a threat. If you make a brooder space with portals that the littles can go through but the bigs can not, the littles can get used to the coop and run area when the bigs are not about and can escape back to safety.

Plenty of room, as my chickens free range most of the time, and them free ranging is when they were getting attacked, not when roosting in the coop. Is that odd? I couldn't tell you if it was certain ones, as I have 15 wyndottes and they all look the same. There would be like 6-8 attacking. The others (including the brahmas and Aurucaunas) were milling about. There are separate food and water stations, yes. Plenty of hiding spaces as we have log piles, pallets in different areas, and things that they could hide in. It's only when they had to pass the main flock for some reason, that they were attacked viciously. Thinking about getting rid of the wyndottes as they are the trouble making ones?

How soon would you suggest? As it is still very cold where the water freezes solid. I also don't have just chicks, but ducklings as well that are brooding with the ISAs.

 

[bruceha2000]

Plenty of room, as my chickens free range most of the time, and them free ranging is when they were getting attacked, not when roosting in the coop. Is that odd?

My guess would be YES that is odd. My understanding is that it is mostly in confined spaces that they get attacked and especially at the feeder(s) since the "interlopers" are "stealing" the food. I don't know if Wyandottes are generally considered aggressive as a breed and I've never had any.

I also don't know about raising ducks with chickens other than that the ducks are likely to foul any open water containers. I wonder if you need to have 2 separate flocks. Wyandottes in one, other breeds in another. They might be able to be integrated over time, especially if their outdoor areas are separated by a relatively low fence (3'-4') that they could cross but don't have to. I HOPE the attackers wouldn't go over the fence JUST to get at others but they could interact at the fence. I know that would be terribly difficult as it would require a second coop unless the one you have is big enough to be divided.

I do not envy you this having to deal with this situation!!!! The only bird I've had intentionally attack another is a cockerel last year (was SUPPOSED to be a pullet!) that went after the hen that raised them until they were ~2.5 months old. He was ~ 6 months old at the time and I think had it in for her because he thought she attacked him a week or so earlier and he didn't forgive and forget. Sad thing is I had just let her out of the broody buster and she flew down, landing right next to him. BOY did they get into it. I had to separate them twice at that time. Looked like a cock fight. Then over the next week he chased her down and attacked the back of her neck drawing blood and ripping feathers out. He was re-homed soon after.

I guess if you have no way to keep their water unfrozen, you would need to wait at least until that is possible. That is why I don't get chicks before it is likely to be above freezing most of the time. I want to raise them out in the barn with the other chickens, not in the house.

 

[Blooie]

<————is not as smart as Bruce!

 

[GardenJen77]

My guess would be YES that is odd. My understanding is that it is mostly in confined spaces that they get attacked and especially at the feeder(s) since the "interlopers" are "stealing" the food. I don't know if Wyandottes are generally considered aggressive as a breed and I've never had any.

Thank you for your input. I appreciate it. I don't mine raising my chicks in the house during the colder spring months, and letting them out when it's a tad warmer. I don't have a big enough coop to really raise them in a brooder in the coop itself at this point. My idea was not to get anymore chicks, but because the wyndottes are showing such aggression, and I hear that the breed tends to be that way, my plans changed. I am replacing them with a more docile breed that a good friend highly recommends and so far, the chicks are promising, I can handle almost all of them.

I only raise the ducklings with the chicks until they can go outside, then they get put in separate enclosures. Easier to only have to deal with one brooder box. So far, the only problem with them and the water, is they get the bedding wet all the time and play in it with their beaks. Luckily the water source isn't where they can jump in and soil.

I will be excited when it is time to let them out into the pen. It's like watching a baby begin to walk, as they explore their new environment.

 

[TheDirtyLawyer]

I had that same issue. I just got two huge cardboard boxes, cut a chicken size hole on both of them so there's a little doorway, then ducktaped them together. A Duplex brooder LOL. It worked well

Oh wow I can't imagine keeping them inside! We have cats and dogs fed on raw food and omg, that would be a nightmare. My dog already got one of my chickens once when she was chilling in the backyard when they ran out. Lucky bird is still alive tho! Thank you blukote!

We are pretty rural so a lot of people here keep tough farm animals and would probably skip a lot of the steps we do. We try to walk a line of having rugged birds with modernized, hyper ethical treatment and while I'm sure inside chickens are totally more common than they used to be, as far as I know it's still pretty much the norm to keep them outside once they're out of the incubation stage. We also try to avoid over imprinting on the birds too, and setting them right outside helps both of us. While it's sweet when one of the chickens wants us all the time, it affects their place in the flock and we have seen it cause stress.

Every flock is different though! You do you! As long as people care for them properly I think lots of methods are awesome and necessary

We are making progress! I'll keep checking on them to make sure they are warm enough. Gah tho... 14 chickens in the house is too gross!

 

[bruceha2000]

Progress is GOOD!!!! Make sure the roof is really well closed in where it meets the wood. Raccoons don't need much space to get in and kill chickens.

<------- is not NEARLY as smart as @Blooie !!!!!!

 

[TheDirtyLawyer]

Is the coop ready? Are you adding to an existing flock. How warm are your nights?
If you're heating with a mhp or heat plate, I would go straight to the coop . If you're using a heat lamp, I would go to the garage. Cover it with wire .

Progress is GOOD!!!! Make sure the roof is really well closed in where it meets the wood. Raccoons don't need much space to get in and kill chickens.

<------- is not NEARLY as smart as @Blooie !!!!!!

Just reading we shouldn't have used chicken wire?? Have you had predator go through it?

 

[llombardo]

Just reading we shouldn't have used chicken wire?? Have you had predator go through it?

That's what I'm getting from all these chicken killings. I ordered hardware cloth for the bottom 2 1/2 ft. Since they serm to be able to pull these guys through chicken wire and ducks sleep along the fence I'm also using iron fencing with chicken wire on both sides. That would mean they would have to go through three layers to get the ducks. I'm going to bring that around and cover as much of the enclosure as possible.For the top half I'm using chicken wire and I think I'm going to bend some out so if they climb they hit that. A friend of mine made a coyote roller for next to nothing and I'm considering putting that all theway around the enclosure. I also have some free flagstone that I might incorporate in there. I'm going for Fort Knox

 

[paintedChix]

Just reading we shouldn't have used chicken wire?? Have you had predator go through it?

At our first farmette, where we started w/ chickens, they pretty much free ranged after a couple of weeks in the brooder. We usually never had them get around to the front porch, but did have the under our carport and in the dog kennels... The Ameraucanas, when I got them, liked roosting 14' up in the main barn - sucked actually. The handful of times I kept the truck (or any other farm equipment stored in it) - it was decorated from above. Sometimes the ponies and the pony's feed buckets were decorated, too... But I didn't have a coop, didn't have a run and everyone did seem to get along and stayed (pretty much) on our property.

We built our first hoop coops as I got the Ameraucanas and I was tired of them roosting up in the rafters of the barn. then we found a place of our own, had to go thru closing etc. Built two more hoops & kept the chickens and ducks at a friends' place from October thru almost the end of January... When moved the chicken wire coops to our new property and started free ranging, started loosing chickens while they were out during the day - ariel as well as ground critters. Started putting hardware cloth around the bottom of the coops and now replacing the coops chicken wire with HC. I've had something "small" reach thru and kill the chickens (up to adult age) and I've had chickens that could tear uip the chicken wire too...