How long before the mean girls accept the new chicks?

[ksato003]

I am integrating 3 chicks that are ~8 wks old with 3 pullets that are 14 weeks old. There’s a size difference, but the gap is closing. They were introduced for a week with a barrier between and 1.5 weeks free ranging together in my backyard.

So far the free ranging is going fine. And by “fine” I mean there are two distinct groups that avoid each other and never interact, except when they get in the same vicinity and there’s some chasing and pecking/pretend pecking. No blood, no feathers pulled. Lots of space to get away, and one of my chicks even comes back for more (Wyandotte!).

I’m still carrying the babies to bed in a separate partitioned off area of the coop (the nest boxes) but they need to be outta there soon, before my big girls start laying.

Will they ever integrate this way, ignoring and avoiding each other free ranging, or do I need to put them in the run together to work it out (with distractions and hiding places)?

I’d LOVE for the littles to follow the big girls up into the coop, but will my big girls forever be standing guard and never allow them in? Lol these are some mean girls y’all

 

[kurby22]

I am integrating 3 chicks that are ~8 wks old with 3 pullets that are 14 weeks old. There’s a size difference, but the gap is closing. They were introduced for a week with a barrier between and 1.5 weeks free ranging together in my backyard.

So far the free ranging is going fine. And by “fine” I mean there are two distinct groups that avoid each other and never interact, except when they get in the same vicinity and there’s some chasing and pecking/pretend pecking. No blood, no feathers pulled. Lots of space to get away, and one of my chicks even comes back for more (Wyandotte!).

I’m still carrying the babies to bed in a separate partitioned off area of the coop (the nest boxes) but they need to be outta there soon, before my big girls start laying.

Will they ever integrate this way, ignoring and avoiding each other free ranging, or do I need to put them in the run together to work it out (with distractions and hiding places)?

I’d LOVE for the littles to follow the big girls up into the coop, but will my big girls forever be standing guard and never allow them in? Lol these are some mean girls y’all

They will eventually! I have been slowly integrating my first flock with my newer babies and it’s been a chore but we are almost there! Mine are much greater size/age gap than yours, so your babies should come together sooner than mine have haha. I have 4 that are 7 months, and the other 15 are all 4 months.

I did the look don't touch for a couple weeks, then integrated run time with supervision, and now they get integrated run time without supervision. I was having troubles with the integrated time though, the babies would get chased and harassed and so they just hid in the coop. Someone on here recommended that I try allowing the babies out first so the older ones couldn’t take and establish territorial attitudes, so I tried letting them out for about 35-40 mins and then would add the big kids and that helped a LOT. Today is week 2 and today they were all co-mingling FINALLY. They do still have their cliques but not totally segregated anymore. I now will make the final changes once they get about another week bigger, and put all the banty chickens in one coop and the bigger chickens in the bigger coop in the evening when everyone is sleepy and hope they finally accept each other fully! I was super happy to see them all out in the run looking relaxed and happy.

The longer you wait though, the worse it gets they get set in their ways and take more convincing! It would be easier without a rooster for me—but I’m not putting a teenage cockerel finding his oats in with a bunch of “too young” girls! I’ll give them PTSD

Good luck! I’m sure the mean girls will accept them in time

 

[ksato003]

Also, I’ve heard mixed reviews about the nighttime stealth operation where you put them all in the coop together and the next morning they supposedly wake up less alarmed by the new intruders. I have my doubts, but welcome any success stories.

 

[ksato003]

They will eventually! I have been slowly integrating my first flock with my newer babies and it’s been a chore but we are almost there! Mine are much greater size/age gap than yours, so your babies should come together sooner than mine have haha. I have 4 that are 7 months, and the other 15 are all 4 months.

I did the look don't touch for a couple weeks, then integrated run time with supervision, and now they get integrated run time without supervision. I was having troubles with the integrated time though, the babies would get chased and harassed and so they just hid in the coop. Someone on here recommended that I try allowing the babies out first so the older ones couldn’t take and establish territorial attitudes, so I tried letting them out for about 35-40 mins and then would add the big kids and that helped a LOT. Today is week 2 and today they were all co-mingling FINALLY. They do still have their cliques but not totally segregated anymore. I now will make the final changes once they get about another week bigger, and put all the banty chickens in one coop and the bigger chickens in the bigger coop in the evening when everyone is sleepy and hope they finally accept each other fully! I was super happy to see them all out in the run looking relaxed and happy.

The longer you wait though, the worse it gets they get set in their ways and take more convincing! It would be easier without a rooster for me—but I’m not putting a teenage cockerel finding his oats in with a bunch of “too young” girls! I’ll give them PTSD

Good luck! I’m sure the mean girls will accept them in time

Thanks for sharing!! Ok so The part that makes me nervous is “the longer you wait, the worse it gets” we are past week 2 over here and not really any improvement

 

[kurby22]

Thanks for sharing!! Ok so The part that makes me nervous is “the longer you wait, the worse it gets” we are past week 2 over here and not really any improvement

Yeah, I would try letting the pullets see the chicks out and about without them, and then add them and do that for a couple days, and if they’re still being civil I would consider trying to integrate them into the coop after they are settled in for the night. See how it goes? I feel like 8 weeks and 14 weeks is still in the window of easier? I added one girl that was about 8 weeks into a group of 9 week olds and 15 week olds cold Turkey and it only took about a week before she was sleeping with the oldest pullets in the coop. She’s still a bit of a loner (she was a replacement by the breeder for a cockerel that was supposedly a guaranteed pullet) but she is happy and fits in now.

 

[aart]

They may not 'mix' until all are laying.
Not unusual.

 

[ksato003]

They may not 'mix' until all are laying.
Not unusual.

That’s actually reassuring to hear thank you!

 

[aart]

That’s actually reassuring to hear thank you!

You're welcome.
As long as no one is being bloodied or pinned down and beaten unmercilessy,
let them work it out.

Would be good to have multiple feed and water stations,
and don't let them sleep in the nests, block them off and put up a separate roost for the youngsters.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I added my pullets to my older flock at night, and it worked out all right. The only problem was, the younger ones then thought the roost was their safe space, and wouldn't come down. They are all mixing now, finally, after a few weeks. I have also added pullets into another flock by just throwing them in there during the day. There was a lot of fighting at first, but they integrated themselves much faster. Mine never had a separate roost, they've always had to sleep on the same roost as the older ones, and that's worked out fine.

 

[ksato003]

Seems like some do the slow integration and observation, and others let the chickens work it out themselves with minimal supervision/intervention.

Interesting to hear everyone's feedback. Oh, and I saw another thread talking about "roost rumble" -- I had NO idea this was a thing