I need help integrating chicks into my flock!!

[tizabel_]

Hello! I have 1, 4 week old chick and 2, 6 week old chicks that are in an outside brooder inside of our chicken run. Sorry if that’s confusing I put a door on the brooder and created a miniature run for them inside of the other run so that my older flock and the babies can see each other without being able to attack each other. That has been there for about a week.
So this morning I tried to let them out of the mini run and the older ones completely freaked out trying to attack the little ones and chasing them all over the coop!!
So my question now is, what should my next step be? After separating them for a week, how should I introduce them face to face? Should I introduce them one by one, by putting an older chicken into the baby run?
Thank you for any replies! I’d also like to mention that I do have hiding places in the older run.

 

[camella]

I use a similar technique for integrating, but I would never attempt it before 12 weeks, or when the younger ones are at least 75% grown. Otherwise they are not strong enough.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How big, in feet or meters, is your coop? How big, in feet or meters, is your run? Do you have photos showing how they are set up? How many older chickens do you have? How old are they?

My brooder is in the coop. The chicks basically grow up with the flock. at five weeks I usually open he brooder door and integrate them. It's that easy. But what works for me doesn't necessarily work for other people. I have a large coop with lots of clutter. I have a lot of room outside, over 50 square feet per chicken when it is really crowded. When it's not crowded I may have over 400 square feet per chicken. That is what I mean by a lot of room. I also have weather that they can be outside all day every day. It's not just a matter of age, there are a lot of other variables.

If we knew what you have to work with we may be able to give specific suggestions that apply to your situation. There are several generic things we often recommend but I don't know how applicable those are to you. It sounds like you may be a good candidate for the safe haven concept. That's where you have an opening o their little area that they fit through but the big ones don't.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My run and coop is the minimum size requirements for the amount of chickens that I plan to have.

Not sure what this means as far as size goes but a small coop might make it harder later. If yours free range outside the run every day that should help.

I have 5 older chickens that are only 3 months.

That should be enough size difference to do the safe haven.

Are you comfortable leaving the young ones out there day and night concerning possible predators? It's your decision. You're looking at them and the conditions, I'm not.

It sounds like you tried putting them in that small coop for their first introduction. Don't do that. You are squeezing them in a tiny place and not giving the young ones room to run away from the others or avoid them. The more room you can give them the better. I'd try it when they are out free ranging.

I don't see an easy way to create that safe haven opening. You might be able to cut holes, open a gate just barely enough the little ones can get through, or maybe having a vertical opening where the young ones can squeeze under but the bigs can't. You may have to get creative.

I think the way I'd try it is to give them a few more days across fences and then create one or more small openings that they can leave when they want to. Open it up when the bigs are free ranging and let them come out whenever they want to. If it goes as I think it should, the young ones will return to that shelter to sleep and they should soon learn to avoid the bigs during the day. Try to avoid locking them in that coop or small run with the bigs. What I think should happen within a few days is that the bigs will free range in one area and the smalls will be in a different area.

After they have ranged together without problems for a month you can try moving them into the main coop. When I do that I just toss them in after dark. As long as it is dark inside they should be safe until daylight. Be down there at first light to open the pop door until you're comfortable it won't be a massacre. When mine have roamed together for a month that has not been a problem, but my coop is large and cluttered.

Be flexible. Base your decisions on what you see. Things don't always follow the plan, that's just the way life is. Adjust as you see the need. My general rules are to try as much as I can to let them work things out on their schedule, not mine. Try to give them as much room as you can every step of the way.

Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

It is better to let chickens work this out, than people try and work it out. The chicks need to be able to get out of reach and they need to be able to get out of sight. Then let them venture forth when they want, retreat when they want.

Just put the fence up a couple inches off the ground. I have mine in the flock by 4 weeks. However, also add a pallet on the ground, one end up on cement blocks, put another pallet up against a wall, and feed them in the safety zone, so they do not compete for food.

Mrs K

 

[Pghelp]

I use a similar technique for integrating, but I would never attempt it before 12 weeks, or when the younger ones are at least 75% grown. Otherwise they are not strong enough.

Yes, I agree. Too young. We're letting our 5 week old little ones play in a confined cage inside the yard for the adult hens so they can see and get used to one another but way too soon to put them together. Our next step is putting the littles in a separate coop beside the big girls, see but no touch and no peck. Make sure you don't make the big ones jealous and hateful. I always give treats to the big hens where the littles can see that the queens are served first!

 

[Pghelp]

Thanks for replying, I can’t imagine waiting until they’re 12 weeks
They are living in a small dog crate right now, I was hoping to get them integrated soon so they can go into the big coop

If they're that young, it won't hurt to have them in the dog crate a few more weeks. My 5 week olds are in a big dog crate, not ideal but I don't want to see any of the little ones pecked to death by the big girls.

 

[Sequel]

When I integrated some pullets last year I shut the older hens out of the coop for a couple hours so the little ones could explore and figure out the lay of the land so to speak. My pullets were 5 months old though so not tiny. I did this daily for a while though so by the time I opened things up they knew where all the hiding places were. Good luck to you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just put the fence up a couple inches off the ground. I have mine in the flock by 4 weeks. However, also add a pallet on the ground, one end up on cement blocks, put another pallet up against a wall, and feed them in the safety zone, so they do not compete for food.

This is what I do as well, by making the gap small enough that only chicks can fit, they can easily use their pen as a safe zone.

My way of dealing with food aggression is having a lot of options around. The chicks get to keep their own feeder in the brooder until integration is done. There's also multiple feeders/feed bowls out in the run, spread out, behind/on top of obstacles, to forcibly break up the space.

You really would benefit from adding some clutter in the run. The chicks should have multiple options to retreat when the older birds go after them, instead of just running back to their pen/brooder.

 

[tizabel_]

I use a similar technique for integrating, but I would never attempt it before 12 weeks, or when the younger ones are at least 75% grown. Otherwise they are not strong enough.

Thanks for replying, I can’t imagine waiting until they’re 12 weeks
They are living in a small dog crate right now, I was hoping to get them integrated soon so they can go into the big coop