Flock Integration and space...how old is old enough?

[Noelygfan]

Hello All!
I have had my original flock of 20 hens for just over a year. They were inherited from a friend (coop and all), the hens are between 5 and 6 years old. I have a set of 8 chicks (about 8 weeks old now) that have outgrown their space. I want to build a smaller coop, so that they are big enough to fend for themselves with the big hens. Some of the chicks (much to my disappointment) my husband would like to turn into meat. Some of our older hens are not very nice (mostly the Gold Stars and Red Stars), and they are mean to the chicks when I have tried some meet and greets. Our Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and Amerucanas have tolerated them, with a random peck here and there to keep the youngins in line.

My parents have offered to either take the bad players (the stars) or the babies until they they are big enough. IF I send my naughty hens to them, (they have a farm, haven't kept chickens in over a decade, and a dog who might eat them if left untended), would my chicks be old enough to integrate well with the remaining flock? I'd have to separate them out to feed them their grower feed. (I should also mention that I free range, except at night when they are locked into their coop for safety.) Or would the babies be better off living at my parents' place until they are big enough and then make the switch then? I know many people would just turn the Stars into chicken stew, but I can't do that, at least not without trying to find another place for them. My chicks are Delaware and Speckled Sussex. The Delawares will most likely end up in the freezer, but the SS are pretty sweet, and will end up either at our house or my parents' house.

Any advice or help on this would be greatly appreciated! (Also, I had planned on building a smaller coop for the babies until they were older, but with my kids home for the summer, any project I have moves slower than is good for the chicks).


Thanks!

 

[boskelli1571]

As a rule, chicks should be at least 2/3 size of the bigger hens before you integrate, probably another 4 weeks or so. If you can build them a pen where everyone can see but not touch, that would be helpful - simply separating is delaying the integration. If you have a large dog crate that will work well until they outgrow it. Free ranging is also to your benefit - the newbies have somewhere to get away from the big girls. The learning center has a few ideas on integration, I suggest you take a peek.
If you feed everyone all flock feed (18%) you won't have to fiddle around with different feeds. Good luck,

 

[Noelygfan]

I have them in a medium dog crate currently. I don't think they have enough space. How do I know when they out grow it?? Could I just put them in there at night and let them free range during the day? Will they know enough to avoid the dangers from above?

They do run from the big hens and seem to enjoy being out and about.

 

[Noelygfan]

And thank you for the food advice!!

 

[boskelli1571]

I have them in a medium dog crate currently. I don't think they have enough space. How do I know when they out grow it?? Could I just put them in there at night and let them free range during the day? Will they know enough to avoid the dangers from above?

They do run from the big hens and seem to enjoy being out and about.

The preferred space per bird is 4sq. ft. (some say more), so if they are all crammed together, too little space. As long as you are up early enough to ensure that murder & mayhem doesn't go on first thing, you can certainly try. They should take their cue regarding danger from the older birds, but it hard to say.
Different things work for different folks, so there really isn't a right/wrong way for many things - give it go and see what shakes out!

 

[Noelygfan]

I have been a little over protective. They are still in our mudroom in the crate!

I will give it a go, as long as they aren't too cramped they can stay in the crate (outside?) for the next 4 weeks. I can always buy a bigger crate and use it for our dog as a spare later.

I already feed the "ladies" 18% layer feed, so if it works forthr babies too!! Awesome! I just hope this doesn't mess with them going to the coop at night when they're older. My big hens are pros, and hopefully will teach them when they're integrated.

Thank you!

 

[boskelli1571]

I have been a little over protective. They are still in our mudroom in the crate!

I will give it a go, as long as they aren't too cramped they can stay in the crate (outside?) for the next 4 weeks. I can always buy a bigger crate and use it for our dog as a spare later.

I already feed the "ladies" 18% layer feed, so if it works forthr babies too!! Awesome!

I just hope this doesn't mess with them going to the coop at night when they're older. My big hens are pros, and hopefully will teach them when they're integrated.

Thank you!

As long as your night-time temps are above 50-60F they should be ok. When you say outside, will they be protected from predators? I would put the crate inside the coop for the nights then let 'em lose in the daytime, but both sides need some look/no touch time to eyeball each other.= - perhaps a couple of days?

 

[Noelygfan]

Perfect! The kids are going to help me make sure the crate goes in about 1/2 an hour before the majority of the hens go to bed. Then we'll let them out in the morning when the ladies go out.

Thank you so much for the great advice and guidance!

 

[Noelygfan]

I just wanted to give a little update. They really enjoyed their first free ranging day. They expanded their comfort zone a bit. A couple of RIR hens (the top hens) were actually very sweet to them. Gave them a few pecks here and there to showthem who's in charge. A couple of BR too! That Red Star in the photo was good for the time there. The babies are currently in their crate in the coop, after a snack of leftover salmon scraps from dinner
They are somewhat confused but happy! Thank you again for the advice!!

 

[aldarita]

Just a note on your comments, it is not good for the little ones to eat layer feed, they do not need the extra calcium it has, it would hurt them. What you need to do is give all your flock 18% protein grower feed until the chicks are 18 weeks old and then switch the flock back to layer feed. It is very important to place a dish (free-choice) in their run with oyster shells for your layers to get the calcium they need.
I am currently in the process of changing my flock feed to grower because I will be introducing 12 week old chicks in three weeks.
Some people decide to continue to feed grower feed to their flock all the time, it is a personal decision.
i wish you luck with your integration, it looks like everything is going smooth....