Hens wont accept 3week old chicks

[FC16]

So I need to get my chicks outside as early as possible and a lot of people have said 4 weeks old is ok for them to be outside.
The chicks are currently 3 weeks and still inside, I keep letting them have time outside each day to get them used to the temperature.
I have 3 hens currently outside. 1 of them is terrified of the chicks and won’t go near them. However the other 2, sometimes they aren’t bothered but sometimes they will repeatedly attack them. I’ve tried separating them in a little cage so then hens can meet them, but nothing seems to work.
Is there a way I can get my hens to accept the chicks?

 

[DobieLover]

So I need to get my chicks outside as early as possible and a lot of people have said 4 weeks old is ok for them to be outside.
The chicks are currently 3 weeks and still inside, I keep letting them have time outside each day to get them used to the temperature.
I have 3 hens currently outside. 1 of them is terrified of the chicks and won’t go near them. However the other 2, sometimes they aren’t bothered but sometimes they will repeatedly attack them. I’ve tried separating them in a little cage so then hens can meet them, but nothing seems to work.
Is there a way I can get my hens to accept the chicks?

The hens won't accept the chicks for a very long time. They are interlopers in the flock and they will kill them if they can corner them.
You need to construct an area inside the coop where the chicks can be with their heat source (I would only use a brooder plate or a momma heat pad for the heat source), food and water where the hens cannot get in and the chicks cannot get out. Leave them in there for a week. Then fashion a small door that is large enough for the chicks to get out but the hens cannot fit through. Open the door so the chicks can come out after you've let the hens out of the coop for the day.
I would also put a few things inside the coop that the chicks can run behind (but not get trapped behind) to get out of the light of sight of the hens.
The same needs to be done in the run. You need lots of places to hide and lots of places where there is food and water so the chicks can still eat.
Leave the chick safety zone set up in the coop until the chicks join the hens. It will be many weeks and they won't be fully accepted until they start laying.

 

[FC16]

The hens won't accept the chicks for a very long time. They are interlopers in the flock and they will kill them if they can corner them.
You need to construct an area inside the coop where the chicks can be with their heat source (I would only use a brooder plate or a momma heat pad for the heat source), food and water where the hens cannot get in and the chicks cannot get out. Leave them in there for a week. Then fashion a small door that is large enough for the chicks to get out but the hens cannot fit through. Open the door so the chicks can come out after you've let the hens out of the coop for the day.
I would also put a few things inside the coop that the chicks can run behind (but not get trapped behind) to get out of the light of sight of the hens.
The same needs to be done in the run. You need lots of places to hide and lots of places where there is food and water so the chicks can still eat.
Leave the chick safety zone set up in the coop until the chicks join the hens. It will be many weeks and they won't be fully accepted until they start laying.

I’d like to thank you both for your advice.
I currently have one of those bad little ordered coops as it was given to me as a quick fix for 3 hens that were rescued.(I’m working on building a bigger one, but for the time being it’s okay for the 3 of them)
Today I’ve sectioned off part of it and built a little brooder for them in there. It’s small, but it will do for a few weeks I think, I’ll still let them out daily (whilst being monitored) and hope as they get bigger they will be accepted. Thankyou

Now I’ve inserted the pictures, I’m looking back and thinking it might be a bit small? It’s only for a few weeks, and they get let out a few times in the day, what do you think?

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I’d like to thank you both for your advice.
I currently have one of those bad little ordered coops as it was given to me as a quick fix for 3 hens that were rescued.(I’m working on building a bigger one, but for the time being it’s okay for the 3 of them)
Today I’ve sectioned off part of it and built a little brooder for them in there. It’s small, but it will do for a few weeks I think, I’ll still let them out daily (whilst being monitored) and hope as they get bigger they will be accepted. Thankyou
View attachment 2879817View attachment 2879818Now I’ve inserted the pictures, I’m looking back and thinking it might be a bit small? It’s only for a few weeks, and they get let out a few times in the day, what do you think?

Sometimes we can only do the best we can with what we have. Pictures are often not reliable when it comes to space and depth. Since you let them out a few times a day, I would continue to try this, while working on a larger space for when your flock is all full grown hens. Keep the little coop for a hospital coop, or broody coop, etc. Good luck, and consider a plan B if this becomes unworkable.

 

[FC16]

This might be offending... I apologise if it offends you.

They are still inside at 3 weeks?! Okay.... okay, I've heard some people say that you shouldn't put them outside till they are 1 and a half month. But I put my chicks outside at 3 or 4 days! They all live. I just don't get it, why don't you just bung them outside? What is wrong with the outside world? The only things that they will be exposed to is stuff they will be exposed to when they are adults.

Hi, don’t worry this doesn’t offend me at all. I’m very new to this and have always wanted to get them outside as soon as possible, things online just made me worried at what might happen. I think people vary the dates they put them outside due to people having different temperatures in different parts of the world. I’d love to have them outside full time but my only issue is them being bullied by the older flock. However, in their little outdoor place I made they did just fine last night

 

[FC16]

Update: they’re now around 4 1/2 weeks old, he chicks are now able to be outside all day with the hens without being killed. There’s the occasional peck or chase o but nothing serious. At night I’ve tried putting them with the hens but that’s a bit too far for the older ones to cope with, so I keep the chicks into the sectioned but until they’re big enough to hold there own. Still not quite there but it’s progress

 

[abpatchy]

I am sorry to say, they are too young to be with adult hens. Yes, they can be outside if the weather is not too cold and wet. But you can't mix them with the adults because they will attack them. They need to be much older. If they had a mother hen it would be ok because she brings them into the group and protects them.
You can keep them separat but in view of the adults so they can used to each other. They will accept them later on when the chicks are grown.

 

[DobieLover]

I’d like to thank you both for your advice.
I currently have one of those bad little ordered coops as it was given to me as a quick fix for 3 hens that were rescued.(I’m working on building a bigger one, but for the time being it’s okay for the 3 of them)
Today I’ve sectioned off part of it and built a little brooder for them in there. It’s small, but it will do for a few weeks I think, I’ll still let them out daily (whilst being monitored) and hope as they get bigger they will be accepted. Thankyou
View attachment 2879817View attachment 2879818Now I’ve inserted the pictures, I’m looking back and thinking it might be a bit small? It’s only for a few weeks, and they get let out a few times in the day, what do you think?

The open bulb heat lamp is a major fire hazard. How warm is it where you are? They might get by with a huddle box.
You can free up some space by making and hanging a baby bottle.

And it will keep it drier in there.
The space is less than ideal. When you let them out, where do they go? Pictures?

 

[LaFleche]

Now I’ve inserted the pictures, I’m looking back and thinking it might be a bit small? It’s only for a few weeks, and they get let out a few times in the day, what do you think?

Way to small in my view, and the chicks don't have any space to get away from attacking hens. They will be terrified in this enclosure.

They will need their own coop and run until big enough to join the adults.

 

[FC16]

I don't know where you are located so I have no idea what your temperatures are going to be the next week or two. Most chicks fully feather out by four to five weeks old so they can handle most weather then, I've had broody hens wean chicks at 3 weeks old and totally leave them on their own to make their own way with the flock. That was in warm weather with nighttime lows in the 70's Fahrenheit, three-week-olds could easily handle that.

Those broody hen raised them with the flock and spent three weeks teaching the others to leave them alone. I do like my broody hens. I also had a lot of room inside the coop and outside, plus weather that they could all be outside all day every day. You did not raise them with the flock and your coop is tiny, that's probably not going to work that easily for you.

My brooder is in the coop, the chicks go straight in there from the incubator or post office. When they are five weeks old I open the brooder up and let them roam with the adults. It's that easy. But you don't have that much room and yours were not raised with the others. You have to be a lot more careful.

When a young chick invades the personal space of a mature hen, or even just a more mature chicken, it is likely to get pecked. It usually doesn't take the chick long to learn to stay away from those older bullies. They need enough room to get away from the older ones if they get too close and they need enough room to avoid the older ones to start with. Your coop does not have that, I don't know how much area you have outside or if they can have access to that.

Chickens don't like change. A big change is strangers showing up. If you can house them across wire so they can get used to each other you can help a lot. This does not solve all your problems but it greatly increases your chances for success.

My first suggestion is to finish that larger coop as soon as you can. In the meantime, house those chicks where they can be seen by the older ones. When you do try to put them together give them as much room as you can. Provide widely spread out food and water stations, hopefully you have enough room. You might be a good candidate for the safe haven method. That's where you provide holes where the littles can get through but the older ones can't. I'd wait at least a week with them side by side before I tried that.

I can't tell for sure but it looks like you might be using that clamp with the heat lamp. If you even need that heat lamp, I strongly suggest you get rid of that clamp and use wire or chain to support it. Do not use string or plastic that can burn or melt, use wire or chain so it cannot be knocked down. That will greatly reduce your fire risks.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yeah, the coop is too small annoyingly which makes this 10x harder. Whilst they were indoors towards the end I had the heat lamp so high it was barely giving off any heat. They seemed to just really like the light and got annoyed when I took it away. So the light inside is just a standard red light, not a heat lamp, as they like the red light and it brightens up the small dark coop. The hens don’t really go in the coop during the day, but when they do they can see the chicks without pecking them. I will continue to let them out in the day for periods of time and hope things improve in the coming weeks so I can take down the wire.
Im in England so my temps are in Celsius but when converted the coldest they go at night are 55F at the moment, not sure if this is too cold or warm. Due to not having a heat lamp I have a hot water bottle out there I’m replacing every so often. Although they aren’t sitting on it I picked them up and they felt very warm.
Thankyou for your advice