ERRR!! How do I interduce 9-10 week old chicks to the flock :/

[happyhens44]

I have 3 red sex links, that almost everyday for 30 mins let them hang with the main flock. But these chicks get bullied ( they sleep in the coop at night, in a cage on a shelf with the main flock ) they have been in the cage for the last 3 days. My big girl about 2 years old bullys the chicks the most. She ALWAYS runs after them and pecks them, Other wise the main flock doesnt really mind them. What can I do to get the 2 year old girl to stop

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Normally I partition the new ones next to the old ones for a couple weeks until they get used to them. Then I let them free range together for another couple weeks, THEN finally put them in with the older ones. Chickens have dominance hierarchy, just like dogs, the elder one is just establishing her dominance and telling the little ones to get out of her territory.

 

[happyhens44]

Do I have to have their cage on the coop ground, Or can it stay on the shelf? the hens can get on the shelf and see them/hear if they want too.

 

[Judy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

 

[StormyMoon]

I put my cage on the coop floor and I put sticks in there for them to roost on, the older girls in my coop are pretty crabby about sharing their roosting space.

If you put them in there by night with no lights on, when they wake up they will think of them as part of the flock. This is how I have been doing it now and it works really good.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I would put it on the ground because that is where the hens will be most of the time. They can get used to the babies being in their space.

 

[babyrnlc]

We have a double decker coop. I put the chicks in the run with them with me out there each day for a few hours and they hang out (they are only 4 weeks old now, they still need a little warmth.) It is going to be warm the next week so tonight is the first night without the light (they are almost fully feathered). Tomorrow or Thursday when the lows will be high 50's I am going to move them to the coop. It is a double decker and I will close them in the bottom coop for a few days and continue to let them hang out with the big girls in the day. After a while I will open the door to the coop where only the chicks can go in. They will have access to the run, but a place to run and hide if they need to. I did this before and it worked out well. I have one EE that is mean. She picks on any new bird or chick. She doesn't peck hard enough to hurt, but she flies after them when they are free ranging and just is bossy!