I have 2 rouge chicks! Integrating them?

[lindz8504]

Ok, so a little background information..... My dad does games/rides at fairs ect and was ordering chicks to be prizes for them. I DO NOT agree with this and have since talked him into inflatable prizes!(Go Me!) He had thirteen 4 week old golden comet chicks "left over" back in May, which he called and asked if I wanted. I had just decided to get chickens, so I agreed to take them in! Then I got 4 adult chickens, 1 Buff Cochin rooster, 2 B.Cochin hens and 1 B.Orphington hen. A few days after I got them my dad called me and said he had 8 black chicks that were too old for him. So I ended up with them as well! Everyone has been in quarantine since then up until this week, when I started integrating everyone! So far everything has gone ok except for 2 of the black chicks refuse to have anything to do with any of the other chickens except each other. They have a peck or be pecked outlook, and will attack and then run from even the big B.Orphington, who is most definitely at the top of the pecking order! The biggest problem is that they REFUSE to go into the coop with the other chickens, and prefer to use my "hospital/quarantine" coop. I have tried everything I know to get them into the coop with the rest of the chickens, even closing the door to the H.coop and leaving it closed. Unfortunately, they will roost outside the door, and even when I try to get them to put them into the big coop, they run for the hills! I haven't been able to touch them since I put them in the coop for the first time! Does anyone have any suggestions?

Edited to add:

Letting them use the smaller coop wouldn't be a problem except that I have another batch of chicks from my dad that are almost 2 weeks old that will be going into it when they are old enough to transition out of the brooder.

 

[DigiChicken]

I've got a couple of break out artists...when they've gotten out I've trapped them in this ONE corner of my yard...using a stick on one side, and they hide behind a pot right at the corner. I quickly reach behind the pot and lift them up by the chest. I try to not grab them by the feathers...that's gotta hurt and re-inforce the, "stay the eff away from that human" mentality. I hold them for a bit, give them a pet (which they seem pleasantly surprised by), then put them in and toss some scratch in so they have some food right away (also reinforcing the people are good).

You can wait til they're laying and hopefully they'll squat for you and you can easily catch them that way.

Another way that works for me is I have my kids stand right by the door, keeping it closed to keep the rest of the flock inside. We toss a bunch of scratch plus maybe some special food they love, like grapes or kale. After the flock has eaten some, and the escapees are curious about what the yummy fuss is all about I, again using a stick, shoo them toward the entrance. The flock as gotten their fill and are less crazy by that point, giving the flighty girls a less threatening entrance to their run. My kids block the way past the entrance and quickly open the door when the escapees arrive, and they hopefully run inside trying to get the yummy snack and away from me & my stick.

Mind you, I don't wildly fling the stick around. I just hold it out as a way to guide them where I want them to go.

Good luck!

 

[Den in Penn]

Try waiting till dark to put them in the coop. At night they can see well and are easy to catch. Repeat until they get the message the coop is where they should go at night. Helps if you can get the Hospital/Quarantine coop out of sight.

 

[lindz8504]

Ok, so one of the rouges is in the coop tonight! YAY!!!!! The other one is under it, so far that I can't reach it... little biddy!

 

[Den in Penn]

Hopefully she follows the lead of the one that went in tonight.

 

[lindz8504]

EVERYONE WAS IN THE COOP LAST NIGHT!!!!!