Helpful for Integrating Chicks!

[Dhkoenig]

Just wanted to thank those who told me about the concept of a panic door for introducing my babies to the old ladies from their "see but don't touch" brooder. The Panic Door! Brilliant! Added a couple of little tables 4" high also as escape spots but it went very well. Only one peck and it was from my peckiest chicken

 

[RoyalChick]

Nice looking panic doors - easy for the littles to see from a distance.
Good job!

 

[Kiki]

Nice job! Are you going to make the door holes bigger each week?

 

[Farmer Mush]

We tried integrating chicks at 3 months but way too much pecking and keeping them from food and water. We re-tried recently at 16 weeks and it’s the same thing. I’ve never had such a hard time combining new from old. Any ideas guys. They’re getting big but won’t defend themselves.

 

[RoyalChick]

We tried integrating chicks at 3 months but way too much pecking and keeping them from food and water. We re-tried recently at 16 weeks and it’s the same thing. I’ve never had such a hard time combining new from old. Any ideas guys. They’re getting big but won’t defend themselves.

I usually start a slow gentle integration at 2-3 weeks.
I did one integration at the stage you are talking about. I had a period of see don’t touch with a chicken wire separator.
Then I let them out to free range together.
I had to sit on my hands because there was some pecking but nothing too violent.

 

[Farmer Mush]

I usually start a slow gentle integration at 2-3 weeks.
I did one integration at the stage you are talking about. I had a period of see don’t touch with a chicken wire separator.
Then I let them out to free range together.
I had to sit in my hands because there was some pecking but nothing too violent.

We did have them in a if kennel in the large run for about three weeks also. My two year olds just seem to be very threatened by them. Not much love going on. It’s not so much the pecking I guess but the keeping them away from food and water. They will guard them at both ends of the coop and run so they can’t get anything and that’s hard to watch. Maybe they will start defending themselves soon, there are two Roos amongst them too. Tx for the info.