Freaked-out FRIZZLES. 4 1/2 mos old. HELP! What to do?!

[ADozenGirlz]

I bought three, 6 wk old bantam Cochin Frizzles this January. Here in Connecticut, it was MUCH too cold to let them go out to the Big Girlz coop, so they stayed in our basement in their cozy little brooder condo until two weeks ago. They are 4.5 months old now.

My initial attempts at assimilating them into the flock involved putting a special little pen next to the regular run so that the existing girlz could see the Frizzles & vice versa without any drama. Next, I let the big girlz out to free-range and kept the Frizzles in their pen. Days later I let the Frizzles out to free-range WITH the big girlz. Immediately some of the girlz began to pick at the Frizzles. The Frizzles are already a shy trio and began running and hiding from the rest of the flock and cowering in corners.

I kicked them out of the brooder when it got warm enough one night last week & put them on the roost after dark. They are NOT fans of the big coop or of roosting. They hide whenever possible, cowering in corners on the floor and my biggest pet peeve is that they're huddled up together in nesting boxes POOPING. AGH! None of my girlz has ever done that and I really want to keep it that way!

During the daytime, I have resorted to put a small pen inside the regular run for the Frizzles to be out-of-doors with the flock otherwise they keep retreating to the coop & nesting boxes (which, btw, are for WORKERS ONLY!). I'm at a loss as to how to deal with them. I can't close the coop door b/c the other girlz need to lay eggs & access food in there, I can't keep coddling them forever. WHAT TO DO?!! HELP!!!

 

[callitchickenlove]

sorry, I don't have an answer -- but just wanted to say I love your picture of them
they are ADORABLE!

My mom, raised chickens most of her life, and she says she never had luck introducing new chicks to an existing flock....hopefully someone has some answers or help for you.

 

[LarryPQ]

Dozen-

Sorry you are having issues. You may just have to let them pick on each other a bit..

You could try keeping a cage in the coop the little ones can run into, but the big ones can't. That way they have somewhere else to hide and poop other than the nesting boxes.

 

[briteday]

I bought some RIR POL's in February and they did about the same as your frizzles. For the first few weeks the RIR's could always be found in the out-of-the-way corners or in the coop. I wondered if they were eating and drinking properly but they seemed to be thriving (not dead from starvation)so I let things work out. Now we've had them just a couple of months and they are part of the regular crowd. They are still low on the pecking order and last to eat, etc. per the older hens. But they get their fair share, just have to wait for it. Our run has enough space for them to go off into bushes or corners, during those first few weeks. And the hens didn't pick on them, just chased them off. I would give it more time.

 

[chickenlittle32]

They will adjust...it'll take some time....the older birds could be pecking them...forcing them to hide...when I add new ones this is what happens...part of the pecking order...once they know their place, all will be fine.

 

[rancher hicks]

When I got chicks last Feb I got 4 bantam Friz's that I had hoped were standards. I just left them all together and they grew together and got along fine. I now have only French and she was by herself in a pen but I had a broody in another pen. It's hard to explain. Well spring is here and the Dels are outside and I've been letting Frenchy out too. We have a big fenced in yard and they seem to get along fine though they don't play together. The Dels leave Frenchy alone and Frenchy leaves them alone.

So what to do? I would continue to put the out together each day for some time and keep an eye on them. Are they in a "yard" together or a run? You may have to give them their own seperate part of the coop.

Oh by the way French and Cowboy Curtis and another hen had been w/ the big girls all year up until it got real cold. I sold Cowboy and the othe hen.

If you intend to seperate them each winter a seperate run and coop would be best.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. My long-term goal is to have all of my chickens together and behaving normally. I'll try to be patient and heed your advice to give it more time. I have been keeping them inside the regular run in a little chicken-wire pen that's not super-roomy, but gives them space to walk around and proximity to the other
chickens. It's a pain in the neck to have to feed and water them specially every day, but I'm hopeful that this won't go on forever!

This is a picture of their little pen when I kept them alongside, but OUT of the big run. Now it's INSIDE the run. Good times.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Update:
They're all integrated into the flock. Took a while, but they're beginning to venture out on their own now, instead of in the "rugby scrum" they were accustomed to!
Monica (the black one) laid her first egg today (7 months old). It's the smallest egg we've ever gotten. So cute!