how to introduce chicks to chickens!!!help!

[thekittenchicken]

I have 3 chickens as shown here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/need-help-on-my-beautiful-chickens-breed.1467538/
two hens and rooster, since we don't have a very big flock which could cause problems we decided to incubate some of their eggs. the two hens weren't broody so we did it ourselves but due to the quality of the incubator, only two hatched. the two chicks are 10 weeks old and have been featured in some of my posts if you want to see them .they stayed apart from their parents and the flock.ive started putting them together recently but everytime my rooster sees them he goes crazy and chases them round the garden .for obvious reasons I've stoped these little get-togethers.but the chicks are getting older now , they cant stay inside for ever , they need to join our flock.i just don't know how to introduce them safely.my rooster just won't accept them , he's aggressive in nature and attaks humans so I don't know if he will ever accept these chicks.also if the chicks grow up to be hens will the rooster stop trying to harm them when he realises and instead include them in his circle of hens.please help, any advice.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I do the see but no touch integration for three weeks, some other people do two weeks. Depending on how many chicks need to be integrated, I will either put them in a dog crate for those weeks and this dog crate stays in the coop or I will put up a chicken wire wall that cuts my coop in half.

 

[Padfoot22]

I just got finished integrating chicks to chickens. Started at 8 weeks putting them in a split run (used the fencing from a dog crate at the bottom that broke apart) and vinyl fencing at the top so they couldn’t fly over. They first slept in a dog crate with perches and wood chips but quickly outgrew it. I built a large perch swing and they slept there for two weeks. The big chickens would come in and out of the run as they went to free range and to bed at night as well as could see them all day in the run from the yard. They couldn’t get to the chicks though. Then at 10-11 weeks I started taking out one part of fencing in the run and letting the big chickens interact with the chicks but just enough that they had an escape route back to their side and I could close them in if things got ugly. They never did! I started letting chicks out in the yard with the big chickens at 11-12 weeks and now they sleeping in the coop with the big chickens. All went very well!

 

[Mellowmalt]

Having kept an aggressive cockerel for several years I would still advise to get rid of him.
They are all so vastly different it's amazing. Some will peck you if you go pick them up, some are super friendly and trusting, some look after their girls, others are just dominating pricks. Some are noisy, others just crow a bit here and there. Some have beautiful crows, others have horrible sounding crows so if you get one with too many bad qualities like horrible crow and loud, no good. I don't think your guy will ever accept them as chicks. The only thing you can do is raise them seperately so they can see each other and once they are fully grown and they've been around each other that long you try again. At the moment they will not dare stand up for themselves and will get relentlessly bullied but once older they have a better chance of telling the cockerel to back down. Generally he should accept a mature hen (over a chick) as it is a new breeding mate for him.

 

[cmom]

Most likely your male will never accept them. Actually he could kill them. Take the male out when you do introduce them to the other birds and see how it goes. You may have a cockerel in the chicks. I don't keep any males that are aggressive. All of my males are good boys. They will want to fight other males but that's their nature. I have had males together but they were hatched out and raised together and no problems. Good luck...

 

[thekittenchicken]

Having kept an aggressive cockerel for several years I would still advise to get rid of him.
They are all so vastly different it's amazing. Some will peck you if you go pick them up, some are super friendly and trusting, some look after their girls, others are just dominating pricks. Some are noisy, others just crow a bit here and there. Some have beautiful crows, others have horrible sounding crows so if you get one with too many bad qualities like horrible crow and loud, no good. I don't think your guy will ever accept them as chicks. The only thing you can do is raise them seperately so they can see each other and once they are fully grown and they've been around each other that long you try again. At the moment they will not dare stand up for themselves and will get relentlessly bullied but once older they have a better chance of telling the cockerel to back down. Generally he should accept a mature hen (over a chick) as it is a new breeding mate for him.

i know we should get rid of him but he attacks everyone apart from me and so id feel bad giving him away because he seems to trust me.i think its because I spend a lot of time with him he accepts me, so I really don't want to give him away because I really do love him also the only place I can imagine an aggressive rooster going in a slaughterhouse.

if the chicks grow into mature hens are you saying that he might accept them?
thank you!!

 

[thekittenchicken]

Most likely your male will never accept them. Actually he could kill them. Take the male out when you do introduce them to the other birds and see how it goes. You may have a cockerel in the chicks. I don't keep any males that are aggressive. All of my males are good boys. They will want to fight other males but that's their nature. I have had males together but they were hatched out and raised together and no problems. Good luck...

oohhh, i really wish he wouldn't be aggressive, are there ways to tame roosters, he's sensible and calm around me so I don't want to give him away, but he really doesn't like the chicks, also I've noticed in the mornings he's usually in a bad mood and pecks the hens, but then again they cry when he's not around(in a chicken squawking way) is it unfair on them to keep him or are there ways I could help with his temperament because im afraid that giving an aggressive rooster away would mean him getting culled.

 

[cmom]

There are articles on BYC for taming aggressive roosters/cockerels. He may or may not be aggressive in another environment. I had a young male that had been beaten up by other young males in a bachelor coop and pen. He was quite battered when I went out, that I took him out and put him in a coop and pen with my special hen. He couldn't walk so I made him a little nest on the floor inside the coop. He had water and food. At first Gladys wasn't keen on sharing her place with him. He did eventually get better and would follow Gladys around, then he decided he was going to attack me, his caregiver. At first I ignored him but he kept it up. Then he started with my DH, sneaking up behind him. I decided then he had to go. A fellow at about the same time was looking for a Rhode Island White male for breeding. I told him about my guy and he said he would still take him as it's hard to find pure Rhode Island Whites. I don't know whatever happened to him because I never heard back. My other males are all gentlemen. Maybe you can replace him and find a good male. There are plenty out there. Good luck

 

[thekittenchicken]

There are articles on BYC for taming aggressive roosters/cockerels. He may or may not be aggressive in another environment. I had a young male that had been beaten up by other young males in a bachelor coop and pen. He was quite battered when I went out, that I took him out and put him in a coop and pen with my special hen. He couldn't walk so I made him a little nest on the floor inside the coop. He had water and food. At first Gladys wasn't keen on sharing her place with him. He did eventually get better and would follow Gladys around, then he decided he was going to attack me, his caregiver. At first I ignored him but he kept it up. Then he started with my DH, sneaking up behind him. I decided then he had to go. A fellow at about the same time was looking for a Rhode Island White male for breeding. I told him about my guy and he said he would still take him as it's hard to find pure Rhode Island Whites. I don't know whatever happened to him because I never heard back. My other males are all gentlemen. Maybe you can replace him and find a good male. There are plenty out there. Good luck

well, i guess you're lucky, but i don't think my rooster is great for breeding so I dont see why anyone would want him and as I said I'm really attached to him, id much rather find a way from them to be at peace. thank you so much though, ill take a look at the articles.

 

[Pollito Pelon]

I use cages not to introduce them the hens but to introduce them outside to the ground the hens get used to them