Flock Integration

[JBrook1941]

How do you know when is the right time to allow for full flock integration? Not the timeline or methods, but instead the time to remove the barriers? Let me tell you what we did/are doing and maybe someone can let us know if we can become one flock.

We have 3 hens and 1 rooster - 11 weeks old - raised with us from 1 day old.
We have 3 hens - 5 weeks old - raised with us and the other hens from 1 day old.

For the last 3 weeks they have ALL been free ranging around the yard. They keep to their crew, the original 4 hang and the 3 babies hang, but there is occasional chasing, which results in nothing more than just chasing. Most of the time the older ones back off and walk away. Very rarely there is some contact and it is mostly noise and fear from the littles - the older ones may peck once and not even get flesh.. Nothing constant, nothing vicious.

The last 2 weeks when they aren't out free ranging for those few hours a day, the littles will be in a temp pen outside the main run for visibility and fresh air.

For the last 1.5 weeks we have placed a small cage with the little ones in the run of the older ones coop and they have been in there. Nothing more that curious older birds occassionally pecking and making the littles scared, but no harm being done.

For the last 3 nights we have split the coop at night with a barrier they can not see through - but it has gaps and space for smell and vision and let the littles spend the night up there with the bigs, but protected.

So when can we just let them all just be together? The bigs are about 3 times the size of the littles.

 

[Debbie292d]

Almost always it has to do with size amongst the same breed. Meaning, my adult silkies can get along with a bigger breed of bird, but younger silkies the silkie adult hens will pick on.

Silkies age slower than most breeds but for us, while they'll all free range in their own little groups, when it comes down to the coop at night, the problem is in the morning before the door opens, the hens are going after the littler ones. It wasn't until our young ones got the same size at about 6 mos old before they all got along.

We had no choice last fall but to integrate too soon as we're in WI and a cold front was moving in so the young ones in the temp coop had no choice but to go in the coop. We made them a like a rabbit hutch, a large box with an opening they could fit in but the big ones couldn't. They cowered in there until we let them out in the morning. Then had to give them food/water as they weren't able to get any in the coop.