I don't know if this thread belongs here but I really need some help on integration

[Lydia Huizenga]

The coop is roughly 6ft x 6ft and the run is 6ft x 14ft. My adults will be at least a year old by the end of this month. I realize that the pullets will not solve my problem of overbreeding and I am considering rehoming one of them. Thank you for all the help. I have removed the pullets for now as we don't have a seperator in yet. And if need be I will rehome some of the pullets too.

 

[Sahraschweiss]

The coop is roughly 6ft x 6ft and the run is 6ft x 14ft. My adults will be at least a year old by the end of this month. I realize that the pullets will not solve my problem of overbreeding and I am considering rehoming one of them. Thank you for all the help. I have removed the pullets for now as we don't have a seperator in yet. And if need be I will rehome some of the pullets too.

You need more space. If I understand you have 6 established birds and are adding 11 for a total of 17 birds in a 6x14 run? That's 84 square feet. Rule of thumb is 10 square feet of run per bird. You don't have that.

Due to too many predators I am unable to free range. So to compromise I made a large run. I have 750 square feet for 20 birds. After watching their behaviors, I would not add any more birds to that space as it would be too crowded.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the response. The six are old enough to act like adults, which is a good thing. But your room really is tight. If you follow the link in my signature I think you'll see why I'm saying that.

That coop section is tight. You are far enough north in Illinois that they will probably be stuck inside the coop only section in part of your winter. It's not just snow or cold, mine get used to that. It's the cold wind. Mine are out enjoying themselves when it is below 0* F but if a cold wind is blowing on them they are not out there. I suspect you observed some of that last winter with your six. You might be OK in that coop section, especially if you set up wind blocks outside and, better yet, also fix it so snow stays out of some of the run so extra room is available on those rough days.

Some people believe in magic numbers for required room. Of course, different people believe in different magic numbers. My experience is don't go by magic numbers but instead go by what you see. But the tighter they are the more likely you are to have behavioral problems. As I said, you may be OK, time will tell. But I'd really think about how to give them more room in the dead of winter. The tighter they are the more they will get on each other's nerves.

A lot of the same can be said about the run. The tighter they are the more they get on each other's nerves. One way chickens have learned to live with each other in a flock is that if there is conflict or one is being a bully, they avoid them. They need room to avoid. Line of sight is important too. in a 6 x 14 run they can see each other unless you have a lot of clutter in it. I have a lot more room than you and it's still not that unusual to see some avoiding others.

All that above is after they are fully grown and integrated. You are not close to there yet. Until your 11 week olds mature enough to force their way into the pecking order they are very likely to get pecked if they invade the personal space of the adults, especially the hens. It usually doesn't take long for them to learn to avoid the adults. My outside area is a 12' x 32' run and another area about 45' x 60' inside electric netting and grass covered. My juveniles may sometimes mingle with the adults after they get to know each other but usually they are widely separated. The adults would typically have to go 25 or 30 feet to get to the juveniles. I don't have any problems integrating.

You don't have that kind of room. Yours can't get out of line of sight of the adults. That makes it harder. So what can you do? I suggest you follow Aart's suggestions as well as you can. House them across wire, add clutter, feed and water in separate locations. Be around to observe when you try to merge them. Be ready to separate them again if you need to. Eventually you may be able to get them to merge into one flock but it may take a while. I think you'd have the same integration issues if you only had six instead of 11 new ones.

If it were me I'd build another run section and /or new coop section, attached to that one by a door. Use that new section to house the chicks until you are ready to try to integrate. It could be temporary for integration but I'd like to permanently make your area bigger if you keep that number of chickens. I think you'll be happier and your happiness is important.

You can certainly try with what you have. It might work. It might even be easier than I've made it sound. Sometimes it is easier, we tend to think of the worst cases. A lot of the time people will cone back and say it wasn't that bad. I hope you are one of those.

 

[Lydia Huizenga]

Thanks for the help! I was wondering, since our run is about 6 ft tall, would we have to make the border all the way to the top so no one flies in or out? What about nighttime? The adults go in by themselves but what about the pullets? Should I put them in at night too? There is no border inside the coop so will they be ok inside?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was wondering, since our run is about 6 ft tall, would we have to make the border all the way to the top so no one flies in or out?

I would.

What about nighttime? The adults go in by themselves but what about the pullets? Should I put them in at night too? There is no border inside the coop so will they be ok inside?

If yo put them in I'd wait until it was too dark inside for the adults to attack them. And I'd be out there before they wake up to put them back in safety. My suggestion is to build them a predator proof area where you can leave them day and night.

 

[Sonya9]

Put up a one way divider.

Then the chicks will get curious, and explore and retreat as needed.

That is a really good idea!

I inadvertently did that this spring, had a hen and chicks in a welded wire pen. After about a week I went to "let the chicks out" and when I called the birds the chicks came running from the back of the main flocks pen.

I realized they had been mixing with the flock for a while and only their mama was stuck in the pen. LOL.

 

[Sonya9]

You can certainly try with what you have. It might work. It might even be easier than I've made it sound. Sometimes it is easier, we tend to think of the worst cases. A lot of the time people will cone back and say it wasn't that bad. I hope you are one of those.

She has a run that provides the minimal amount of space for 8 birds and she is looking at making it house 17.

That isn't "sort of pushing the numbers" it is way way over the line.

 

[lalalandchickens]

Far too many in a small space you need to add an extension pictures would help so many great ideas and help to be had from here.