Integrating 1 hen to pullet flock

[Rodlittle]

Hi everyone. I am new to raising chickens and just looking for a little advice. We aquired a white leghorn hen (on accident) about a month ago. We have never raised chickens so didnt know the first thing to do. She has decided to roost on our patio swing every night. We decided we would get a small coop and have a small flock on our property. We picked up 5 production red chicks. We still have the chicks in the house and the white leghorn is still roosting on our patio swing. My question is how should i go about integrating the white leghorn with the chicks? Obviously i know i need to wait until they are older but looking for any advice or tips on what might work? Will i have trouble with the young birds ganging up on the leghorn..or will it be the other way around and the leghorn will go after the pullets? Thanks for any advice.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

What sort of coop are you getting? It is much, much better to build one than buy a misleadingly sized prefab coop.
Once they are 2ish months old they will be large enough to be integrated.

 

[Rodlittle]

What sort of coop are you getting? It is much, much better to build one than buy a misleadingly sized prefab coop.
Once they are 2ish months old they will be large enough to be integrated.

I hadnt actually purchased one yet so thanks for the advice..so no need to worry about the pullets ganging up on the single hen?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.

So right now, that leghorn is roaming your yard and sleeping on your patio swing each night. You do not have her confined day or night, except maybe by your fence. Is this right? How old are those chicks? Where are you located? I'm interested in what the weather will be like when those chicks are ready to go outside, probably when they are about a month old.

I don't know what your back yard looks like. How big it is and what it has in it as far as trees, brush, or outbuildings. I don't know your winter or summer weather either. For thousands of years small farmers have raised free ranging flocks, often with them sleeping in trees, but they are vulnerable to predators. Most people on this forum have a coop for them to sleep in at night so they can be locked up safe from predators. Many people have a run to confine them during the day, both for predator protection and to keep them out of trouble during the day. You may have noticed that leghorn poops in some inconvenient-to-you places. Chickens can also damage flower or vegetable gardens or roam onto other people's property. There are different reasons to keep them confined. I don't know which way will work best for you.

You have a single mature hen and five babies. What typically happens in my flock is that the juveniles avoid the adults until they mature enough to force their way into the flock. With my pullets that's usually about the time they start to lay. With cockerels, who knows when that will be. Chickens are social animals and usually want to be with other chickens. Your hen being by herself may change those dynamics some.

Because she is older the hen will outrank the juveniles in the pecking order until they mature enough to force the way in. The worry is not that they will gang up on her but that she might harm them if they invade her personal space. With sufficient space that usually isn't a big deal but every now and then you get a mature hen that should be called Atilla the Hen. Each have their own personality.

I generally have my chicks roaming free by the time they are 5 weeks old. They can handle the weather and I have enough room that they can stay away from the adults. I don't know how practical that will be for you. There are so many different ways you could go that it's hard for me to talk specifics as to what might be best for you. We each have our own set-ups, climate, management techniques, and goals that we are all unique in many ways.

I guess a typical way someone in your circumstances might go (I don't know your circumstances so I'll guess) would be to get a coop and probably a run, train that hen to sleep in the coop, then integrate the chicks when they are ready. Before you commit to a coop give us a chance to critique it. We generally don't like the typical prefab. They usually hold half or less than the advertised numbers, are usually of poor quality in materials and workmanship, and are often poorly designed for chickens. A lot of people use them but they often have to make changes. Knowing what your weather will be like winter and summer can help in that evaluation. Integration usually requires more room than they need after they are integrated.

Plenty of people start this adventure every year. This forum is a great place for information and help, but you will get a lot of different suggestions. That's because we are each unique with different circumstances and conditions. What works for one person may not work for another. So be kind of flexible and once again,

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I hadnt actually purchased one yet so thanks for the advice..so no need to worry about the pullets ganging up on the single hen?

Yes. I think it will be fine. She is larger than them and will establish dominance. But since there’s five I’m doubtful she’ll single one out and cause damage.

Yeah, prefabs are much smaller than they advertise them as and if you’re gonna have six hens, you’ll need a much larger coop. You can look around the BYC for nice coop building ideas if you would like.