How to make chickens get along??

[Merc_smallFarms]

How did you introduce the new chickens to the existing flock? Are you familiar with what we call the "see-no-touch" method? I'll attach a link to an article I wrote describing it. Also, do you quarantine new birds for a month before adding them to your flock to be sure they're healthy and not exposing your birds to lice, mites or illness? It's highly recommended.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-a-pictorial-guide.79343/

Thank you for the article it was very informative I did not know about the method before but I’ve been doing something similar to it. The way I introduce chickens to my flock is I typically quarantine my chickens for a week and a half, during that time I give them light antibiotics and vitamins. I don’t stress too much about quarantining because the majority of the time I’m getting chickens from family members who I know take good care of their chickens. These new chickens I got I didn’t quarantine them before hand but they’ve received all their vaccines and were very well cared for. Afterwards, I place the chickens in a big cage inside the coop. When I did this for my new chickens the mini rooster got away and that’s when the fight happened. I let them out of the cage to integrate after two to three weeks.

 

[Merc_smallFarms]

Then you have at least two boys. They are going to determine which is the dominant flock master. This can get more serious as they mature. Sometimes this is a fight to the death, sometimes it isn't that big of a deal. A lot depends on the personality of the individuals. What often happens is that they fight and one determines he is better off running away. If he has room to run away and stay away they often work it out where they coexist within the flock. But if he doesn't have enough room to run away it is much more likely to be a fight to the death. I'm not talking about the 4 square feet in the coop and 10 square feet in the run you often read about on here. I'm talking about a physical straight line distance where he can get far away.

So, I have four roosters now with the fact that two of my hens are actually roosters I most likely will give away those two and keep my big rooster and my mini one. I have a little less then half an acre run and my rooster has his own space to sleep away from the hens, I can also make a sleeping space for my other rooster (He’s currently sleeping in a cage with the two new chickens) My big rooster is nice but has a past of fighting with roosters, as far as I’m aware all those roosters were big ones. My mini rooster isn’t going to grow bigger than a baseball glove and is also calm. With the size difference between them and the space do I have a good chance of keeping the peace between them?

This depends on the ages and personalities of the individual chickens. How much room they have is hugely important for integration of the girls, let alone the two boys. It is not about teaching them but giving them a chance to work it out on their terms. We do that all of the time. It generally involves housing them side by side across wire fences so they can get used to each other for a while, giving them as much room as we can, having separate feeding and watering stations far enough apart, and maybe having clutter in the run so they can get out of sight of each other. Sometimes this is fairly easy, sometimes it is rough. The more you can tell us about your facilities and flock the more likely we can make specific helpful suggestions.

Details about my flock and facilities: So far with the current number of animals I have six hens/pullets, four roosters, a house dog, six rabbits, and one turtle. Roosters are housed separately but the two roosters that I thought were hens have been staying in the coop and the mini roosters is staying in a cage with the two new hens. The coop currently has one 2 gallon water dispenser (it’s small I know I had a 55 gallon one but it got super gross so I’m using this one for now and refilling all the time I promise) and a big food dispenser plus I throw around some scratch feed and do weekly treats. These past few days I’ve been getting them use to going outside the coop I marked out a little less then half an acre for them there’s two trees but other then that not much clutter but I’ll probably add some now thank you. I cleaned the 55 gallon water dispenser and have outside for them. So that’s everything I think feel free to ask any questions.

 

[tlcmurphy]

Roosters are chickens. You have 6 hens/pullets and 4 roosters/cockerels. Those are not good numbers. I’d suggest keeping only 1 boy

 

[FrostRanger]

6 hens is maybe enough for one rooster (just a minor note, an adult female chicken is called a hen and a female chicken under a year old is called a pullet, chicken is the species, both hens and roosters are chickens)
As for will your bantam and standard roosters ever get along, who knows, it depends on the temperaments of both birds involved, the amount of space they have and the number of hens between them. Bachelor flocks are a gamble at best, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't and sometimes they work until they don't. It's best if they can't see the hens but even that guarantees nothing. If you wish to attempt it, try see but no touch for a week but have a plan in case it doesn't work out. There's really no way to force them to get along if they are the types to not tolerate other males even with no hens to fight over

 

[Merc_smallFarms]

Roosters are chickens. You have 6 hens/pullets and 4 roosters/cockerels. Those are not good numbers. I’d suggest keeping only 1 boy

I’m sorry! I feel so stupid now and I was there thinking no chickens are female so I should specify . Thank you for the clarification I needed that.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I’m sorry! I feel so stupid now and I was there thinking no chickens are female so I should specify . Thank you for the clarification I needed that.

You're not stupid, it's a very common error.

 

[tlcmurphy]

I’m sorry! I feel so stupid now and I was there thinking no chickens are female so I should specify . Thank you for the clarification I needed that.

No not stupid at all, I was just trying to clarify.

 

[Ridgerunner]

With the size difference between them and the space do I have a good chance of keeping the peace between them?

The size difference doesn't matter that much. It's the personality that matters. Sometimes bantams can dominate full sized roosters.

A half acre is a lot. Roughly 100 feet x 200 feet. That will help tremendously.

Some people believe the hen to rooster ratio matters. I don't. From what I've seen and what I've read on this forum you can have huge problems whether the ratio is large or small. You can have great success whether the ratio is large or small. Having more room helps but it basically comes down to the personality of the individual hens and roosters. Both the girls and the boys matter. The only way to find out what will happen with your flock in your circumstances is to try it. If you have issues be willing to deal with them.

 

[Palais du Chook]

How did you introduce the new chickens to the existing flock? Are you familiar with what we call the "see-no-touch" method? I'll attach a link to an article I wrote describing it. Also, do you quarantine new birds for a month before adding them to your flock to be sure they're healthy and not exposing your birds to lice, mites or illness? It's highly recommended.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-a-pictorial-guide.79343/

I have used the see no touch method and it is working very well. I have 3 original chickens and introduced two pullets. They each have their own coop where they can go each night and large runs that they can run in and do what chickens do but cannot get to each other. 3 weeks later, today... my senses told me it was introduction day. I have opened both runs and a third one which my originals love. There was slight tension, but really not much bother. I had lots of grass and scratch and stayed to supervise for a while. So far it is working well.

 

[Mrs. K]

If you are an odd's girl or guy, then 90% it won't work. You do have space, which did increase the odds slimly. That many roosters is too many roosters for the few immature pullets that you have, even if you get down to 2 roosters. That is the reality of roosters.

You have a very immature flock, which is going to be a lot of hormones running around, especially if you are in the northern hemisphere and spring is coming. Cockerels can really make pullets lives miserable. The more you have, the more aggressive and competitive they get, leading to multiple breedings to one pullet, and fighting amongst themselves.

The old boy is not going to like any of the new boys. Especially if he has fought before. He is going to be pretty determined to get his licks in early. The aggressivieness of Margarette does not bode well for this.

You can try it how you want, but do have a plan B, C, and D set up and ready to go. They are your birds, give it a try. But truthfully, I would expect this to be a pretty miserable flock, and stress leads to poor health, and less eggs, and sometimes loss of life.

One really can't keep everything. I know you came here wanting non culling solutions. I fully planned on giving advice as to clutter in the run, escapes and hideouts, extra roosts, feed stations, and water. Those things can really help. But you have too many roosters. I too, would recommend only keeping one, and it might be best not to have any. One should work, you have the space.

Mrs K