Integrating 2 cockerels & 2 pullets to 8 hens.

[igorsMistress]

Oh no, I'm so sorry it didn't work out Valerie. I hope Mad will be ok. Better luck next time!

I second @aart I have integrated several new chickens into my flock and it has been far easier for me and them with younger birds. I did the see but no touch thing from age 3 days to 4 weeks, then let the chicks out. The older birds do some chasing and such but the chicks are fast and have plenty of places to hide with no way to get trapped. I also have a tiny pop door on the chicks coop too small for the bigger birds to get through so they have a safe place with constant food and water. As long as they have escape routes they're ok.

I've had brothers grow up together and not had any bloody fights, but we sent all but one to freezer camp before things got too crazy. I plan to do the same this time but I'm keeping 2 cockerels. They've been together since they hatched and went to jail together for a week once

 

[ValerieJ]

Oh no, I'm so sorry it didn't work out Valerie. I hope Mad will be ok. Better luck next time!

I second @aart I have integrated several new chickens into my flock and it has been far easier for me and them with younger birds. I did the see but no touch thing from age 3 days to 4 weeks, then let the chicks out. The older birds do some chasing and such but the chicks are fast and have plenty of places to hide with no way to get trapped. I also have a tiny pop door on the chicks coop too small for the bigger birds to get through so they have a safe place with constant food and water. As long as they have escape routes they're ok.

I've had brothers grow up together and not had any bloody fights, but we sent all but one to freezer camp before things got too crazy. I plan to do the same this time but I'm keeping 2 cockerels. They've been together since they hatched and went to jail together for a week once

Thanks IM. It will be much easier next time I have chicks to integrate them at a young age. This spring I'll have a new big walk in coop . The ones I have now are difficult to manage if anything goes wrong. I can't just reach in and pick up a chicken, for example. We will definitely incorporate a small chick door in the new coop! Thanks for the tip!

 

[aart]

I do have a crate, and I don't think my other hens will be aggressive. It's just her. But a crate doesn't fit in any of my coops, so I'm going to go out in a half hour and see which coop she sleeps in and who sleeps with her. Then I'll close them off together and try integrating with the other hens first. I would probably have to put some Blu-Kote on Mad so no one pecks at him just because they see blood, although I'm not sure red on red would show up to them.

Exactly, don't bother with blukote.

Just put crate out in run for the day?
How many coops do you have?
Using one as an isolation coop might work fine.

 

[ValerieJ]

I don't know if you can tell by this quick photo I took, but Surly is in the front right corner and smaller than the other BO's and BA's, about the size of the RIR's. But she is always in front. It's her world and the rest of us live in it.

 

[igorsMistress]

I don't know if you can tell by this quick photo I took, but Surly is in the front right corner and smaller than the other BO's and BA's, about the size of the RIR's. But she is always in front. It's her world and the rest of us live in it. View attachment 1984125 View attachment 1984125

They're so pretty!

 

[NatJ]

Don't you think if I just wait another month that Mad will be too big to attack?

No.

You've already said that Surly attacks other chickens bigger than her.

 

[ValerieJ]

Exactly, don't bother with blukote.

Just put crate out in run for the day?
How many coops do you have?
Using one as an isolation coop might work fine.

I have 4 coops, but 3 in use. DH built another small 4x4 for the chicks a few weeks ago so I could get rid of the prefab that's falling apart and too small for anything anyway. The prefab is still there, but not for long. Anyway, the 3 coops each have a run I can close off and any one of the runs is big enough to put a couple or few hens. I've got a run that is less than a quarter of the overall space with a 4x4 A-frame that you can see in the first photo. I'm hoping to put her in that run with a friend while I integrate the others. It might be just the thing to cool her heels. The largest run has an 8x4 coop with 8 external nest boxes. That might throw her for a loop because that is where they usually lay, but I'll put a nest box in the A-Frame.

Do you think I should try as soon as tomorrow? I'd sure like to make this happen sooner than later. I remember you telling me to integrate when they were 6-7 weeks, but I was afraid of Surly then. I always seem to do my best learning after the fact.

 

[ValerieJ]

They're so pretty!

Thank you! I know I don't have any of the fancies, but I love these big girls.

 

[ValerieJ]

No.

You've already said that Surly attacks other chickens bigger than her.

Excellent point!

 

[aart]

Do you think I should try as soon as tomorrow?

Yep, I'd keep at it...no sense in putting it off.
Hopefully they can get on well enough to range all day and go to their separate coops at night......I'd keep Surly(perfect name!) confined 24/7 for a few days so she can't interfere.