I Hate Mmy Mean Ol' Chickens!!!

[loralei]

My chickens are horrible! I hate them! Friday night I added my 22 week old "babies" to the coop while everyone was roosting. Saturday morning I got up early to let everyone out into the run. The babies stayed huddled in the corner of the coop. I provided food and water in there but occasionally one of the babies would get brave and venture out into the run. I would catch the others beating up on him/her, rescue him/her and place him/her back in the coop. I thought it would get better after a couple days. Well tonight I came home and it was pouring down rain and near dark to find one of my 2 sweet BO baby roos dead under the coop.

Its still pouring so I haven't been able to get him out yet. The other babies are still huddled in the corner. I'm afraid of losing any more. What a horrible death it must have been and he was so beautiful, strong and healthy. Why aren't they accepting these newbies?

 

[MuranoFarms]

Can you put up a separation? So they can see each other but not actually touch yet.

 

[canada-goose]

Chickens don't like new birds. There's no reason to hate them for it. They need SLOW integration, not being thrown together!

 

[skovats]

sorry to hear this I had the same issue and would only have them mixed with each other when I was around and could jump in and stop an issue takes a long time for them to get along best thing is to wait until they are same size then start mixing slowly for short periods of time I have been doing this for 6 weeks and now its a bit better

 

[Woods_Woman]

Oh..I'm so sorry. Sounds like your going to have to go much slower. Although flock birds by nature, it always amazes me how hard it can be to intricate new one's.

 

[TNRIRRoo]

Mine did the same thing when I brought some new birds home. They were all roughly the same size so there was nothing tragic. Sorry for the chickies.

 

[JestersEye]

Awww, I'm so sorry to hear that.

Here's how I handled introducing younger chickens into our flock... My DH and I built two separate pens in the coop to house different aged birds. This way, they were able to still live alongside the older birds and learn about the pecking order and other flock dynamics, while safely out of reach. They also had a heat lamp available to them, along with their own food and water supplies, so they couldn't be chased away from all sources of nourishment. They stayed in these pens for a few weeks, and gradually were let out to join the other birds during the day. At night, we still gathered them up and/or closed them in their "baby" pens as needed. They usually returned to the pens on their own, since that's where they felt safe; but eventually we started finding them huddled next to the larger chickens on the roost at night. That's when we knew they had charmed their way into the flocks and had gained acceptance. It was so cute to see the little ones nestled under the protective wings of the boss roo, like he was hugging them to keep them warm. Basically, you should make a safe space for the young ones so they can integrate slowly into the rest of the flock; watching to see how the groups behave over time. I hope this method will help your other babies fit in, and help you love your chooks again!

 

[loralei]

I posted a couple weeks ago asking about integrating new birds. That's one reason why this is so frustrating. My DH is taking the younger birds out and putting them back in their pen in the barn. I will just wait till they are bigger/older although they aren't that much smaller than the full grown birds; they just need to fill out a bit. Some of them have even started laying! For the past couple weeks I've been letting the younger ones range near the fenced run where the older ones are. They certainly are not strangers.

 

[lavacaw]

The older roosters in my flock WILL NOT accept another younger roo. I tried every which way (putting the newbie in a pen in the chicken yard, putting him in at night, etc.) and I had a bloodbath on my hands every time they could go at each other. It was the newbie starting the fight! I have two Leghorns that rule the roost. I plan to get some other varieties (coming next week) but am in the process of converting an old rabbit hutch into a rooster dorm. Each will have his own room with a run. Sorry for your loss.

 

[catdaddy66]

Trying to simply "place" two separate flocks/groups together is not the most successful way...birds need slow exposure and acceptance MAY follow, or not. But one way to see a chicken version of West Side Story is to place the Jets and Sharks together from day one!

For one reason it interrupts the pecking order, and that is established early to minimize a stressful life later.
Stress like that could also end up w/ pecking and canniballistic behavior (it's not pretty!).

Definitely keep them physically separate and let them meet visually at first, then see what happens by observing for a while.

hope this ease the transition for you!