Integrating chicks, how much pecking is normal?

[abbydmac]

We have 4 pullets that are 17 weeks and 6 chicks that are 3 weeks. The chicks have been in the coop in a dog crate for a week, and in the run in a crate on and off over the past week. The older girls were curious, especially when they were in the run. Today I let the littles out in the run and there was a lot of pecking from the older girls, one in particular just didn't seem to settle into them being there at all. I know some pecking is normal, but this is our first time with chickens and it looked brutal. No blood, some down being pulled out. I also set up the crate to be open only wide enough for the chicks to enter, and they weren't running back to their food water and safety at all. Our chickens don't free range at this point, we have too many hawks, foxes, and dogs around our property. I can supervise for a few hours at a time, the older girls "behaved" while I was in the run, but really began to go after the little ones as soon as I stepped out. If this is normal, I can handle the adjustment, I guess I am wondering when to step in?
Edit to add: 2 of the pullets did the submissive squat for the first time today, is it foolish to try to integrate this close to POL, or does that even matter?

 

[RodNTN]

That's a big age difference, as long as there isn't any blood they should be alright. You could try the see but can't touch method:

The most important peace-making technique is to allow the birds to see one another, and even be in the same SPACE together, without having physical access to one another. This will allow them to work out the pecking order through subtler cues. If you have a run, you can achieve this by putting the new birds in the run with your old-timers but separating them with chicken wire, hardware cloth, or something else that'll do the same job. (Making sure, of course, that they all have access to food and water.) Do this for a week, or even two, before letting them in with the main flock.

After that first week, when you're ready to make the transition, some people advise that it's easiest to first introduce the new birds once they're all sleeping--the idea being that upon awakening your resident flock will notice the new guys but be too groggy to realize that things have changed, and/or too interested in eating to attack them right away. This doesn't seem to always be the case--some girls do notice immediately!--but morning introductions can't really hurt.

But more than likely they will be integrated pretty soon, just give them time. Good luck!

 

[azygous]

You face an uphill battle because your older girls are still very young. Youngsters are usually way more inclined to bully chicks as a fun sport. Therefore, you need to provide maximum safety for the chicks.

You've made a half-hearted attempt at rigging up a panic room, but it lacks adequate access points to be useful. Chicks in retreat mode are panicked and need as many accesses as possible to their refuge.

A cage with a door left partly open doesn't quite provide maximum safety. So you need to rig up a safe pen centrally located with as many openings as possible. These openings can be vertical portals or a horizontal gap at the bottom of the fence.

Chicks spending the day in the run in proximity to the older flock is a great way to get integration accomplished while the chicks are still young and non-threatening to the older chickens. But you need to make sure the chicks have safe places where they can quickly get away from bullies. In addition to the panic room, perches and shelves and old furniture provide great spots in a pinch to evade a bully.

 

[abbydmac]

You face an uphill battle because your older girls are still very young. Youngsters are usually way more inclined to bully chicks as a fun sport. Therefore, you need to provide maximum safety for the chicks.

You've made a half-hearted attempt at rigging up a panic room, but it lacks adequate access points to be useful. Chicks in retreat mode are panicked and need as many accesses as possible to their refuge.

A cage with a door left partly open doesn't quite provide maximum safety. So you need to rig up a safe pen centrally located with as many openings as possible. These openings can be vertical portals or a horizontal gap at the bottom of the fence.

Chicks spending the day in the run in proximity to the older flock is a great way to get integration accomplished while the chicks are still young and non-threatening to the older chickens. But you need to make sure the chicks have safe places where they can quickly get away from bullies. In addition to the panic room, perches and shelves and old furniture provide great spots in a pinch to evade a bully.

Thank you! Very helpful direction on doing this right. I felt pretty sure that I couldn't leave them out as it stood yesterday. I definitely have some ideas for more escape areas. If things don't seem to be working we may just hold off longer. The older girls were kept out of the coop much longer since we were brooding in winter.