Help needed. Young hens not integrating.

[Aspires01]

Hello, I need advice. I have 5 laying barred rock hens and a lavender Orpington roo. We added 7 lavender Orpington chicks to the flock over a month ago. I put them in the coop at 7 weeks old in an ex pen so they could “get to know” the larger birds. After 3 weeks, I removed the pen separating them. It’s been 4 weeks of them all being together but the younger birds WILL NOT integrate. They do not roost with the older birds, and they refuse to come out into the run with the older birds. They stay in the coop all day long so I have to keep food and water in both coop and run. When forced outside and locked out of the coop, they create a chicken ball in the corner of the run till they can go back inside Also, they are covering the coop and nest boxes with poop. The orpingtons are not physically smaller than the barred rocks anymore and I’m at my wits end. If I stop placing feed and water inside the coop, will they starve/thirst themselves to death or will they be forced to come out and find food/water? Any advice is more than welcome at this point, these birds are creating so much work..

 

[fluffycrow]

It has been my experience that the youngsters won’t fully integrate with the adult group until the cockerels have started to mate and crow, and the pullets have started laying. The behaviour your birds are showing, with one adult group and one juvenile sub-group isn’t odd at all. Even when they have fully integrated, I wouldn’t be surprised if they prefer to stick to birds of the same age.

Them being so adamant about staying indoors is more of a problem. Most of my youngsters get beat up by the seniors a fair bit, and I’m suspecting that the same is happening with yours. Do you have photos of your coop and run? A fair sized, cluttered run (https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/ ) should provide plenty of space and cover for both groups to live in relative peace.

I would recommend you have more than one feeders and waterers, though. The higher-ranking birds can get quite territorial over feeding spots, so having multiples ensures that everyone stays properly fed and watered

 

[Mrs. K]

What you need for the younger birds to get some confidence. They need exposure to the territory without getting chased. Consider either letting your adult hens out into the yard, and locking the littles in the run. This allows them to explore the area, and eat without being chased. It also allows the big chickens to see them out there, and the sky does not fall.

The second issue is what does your run look like? A lot of runs are just a wide open rectangle where as every bird can see every other bird 100% of the time.

If that is what you have - add some clutter. Pallets up on blocks, leaned against a fence can give birds a place to perch, get out of sight, or up on top of it. A table laid on the side - or a large piece are cardboard - makes a mini wall that birds can step behind and get out of sight. A feed bowl set behind a mini wall can really help make sure all birds are getting something to eat.

Adding roosts - ladders, saw horses again make more use of the vertical space and allow birds to get out of reach, out of sight.

You want so much clutter that it is hard for a human to walk in there. Your birds will be much more happier.

Mrs K