Flock my foot! Intergration issues!

flying_babyb

Chirping
8 Years
Mar 18, 2011
118
0
99
Chick land
we have a flock of 6 big hens. 3 are barred rocks, black and aggressive, 3 are somthing else, yellow and sweet. We got 4 babies over 4 months ago from a local swap meet. This weekend we relized two were roosters so they got a new home. We have had the babies in a see but dont touch layout with them having a seprate space, cage and run where the big chicks can watch but not attack. Last night we tried puttting the babies out with the big ones. The black ones attacked! Aftr this I poped the yellow ones in the baby run and all went well. How do I get all 8 in the big heated coop as one flock before winter?
 
Some squabbling when new birds are introduced is normal, thats why they call it "a pecking order". I never introduce young birds that are not at least 2/3rds grown. It sounds like yours are probably old enough or getting close to the age where they can run with the big girls. When I introduce birds to each other, I don't intervene or remove the new birds unless one of the 2 following things happen:
1. They pick on just one and begin to draw blood (seldom happens, mostley they just peck em on the head, pull out some feathers and chase them off and sometimes the little birds go hide in a corner)
2. They bully to the point that after 4-6 hours pass the bird cannot leave its hiding place to eat or drink.

I suggest that to introduce new birds, you try putting them in at night so they all wake up together. Just be sure to get up early, close to dawn to do a preliminary observation of how they are getting along.
 
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good to know. they keep bullying the little ones behind the dog kennel but not alot of pecking has occured. Guess I shouldnt worry so much.
 
Are you able to free range your birds? That's how we've been introducing birds to each other and it's been working. Granted, the little ones are still scared of the older birds, but now the older birds don't go after them any more.
 
there all free ranging to a extent, they have a big enclosed run that eventually all the chickens will share, right now the babies have there own seprate section in the run
 
What I did is put a dog crate into the hen house after the young ones (a little more then half grown). I fixed the entrance to the dog crate so that the little chicks could get in but not the big ones by using a wire mesh. Never any big dramas with that arrangement. I did have the little ones stay in the dog crate for a day or so before I opened it up in the coop.
 

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