Integrating chicks into flock at 4 weeks old.

[aart]

Wasn't sure where to put this, thought it might do the most good here in the chick forum.
Yes, you can integrate your little fluff balls at a much younger age than you might think.

Prior thinking was to wait until chicks were at least 8 weeks old or of a size almost equal to the older birds,
so they would have a 'fighting' chance against the usual aggressive rejection of new birds by an established flock.
It has come to pass that many folks are now finding that integrating much younger is easier for all involved.

One thing has stayed the same tho, the new birds are kept in a 'see but no touch' adjacent pen for a few weeks prior to allowing physical contact.
This allows everyone to get used to seeing and hearing each other without having to share physical space and feed/water.

Here's a couple of key reasons why it works:
Tiny chicks are less of threat to the older birds and their resources(space, food, water).
Tiny chicks are a small target for pecking and fast as all get out - so harder to 'catch'.

For easier composition/editing/linking I wrote and illustrated with pics how I integrate chicks in an 'article' found here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old
Post any questions here in this thread as I don't get notifications of comments made on articles.

 

[debid]

I use roosts in the run for hiding places. Getting out of line of sight gives them a much-needed break. But the difference between the first integration where I tried to add POL pullets and the subsequent integrations using side-by-side brooding and shared range time was huge. So much better that I happily started younger this time. And curiously, the younger chicks are bolder.

I have noticed that the biggest threat to the chicks is not the top of the order but rather the bottom. The hens most likely to be challenged for position by new arrivals are the most interested in establishing their position over the littles. So, those are the ones I watch most carefully to see how things are progressing.

 

[Blooie]

I copied an idea from @azygous when I started outdoor brooding a couple of years ago. For the first few batches of chicks I was just propping one side of the brooder open just large enough for the chicks and too small for the Bigs to follow them in. But if you've ever seen panicked chicks, you know they'll sometimes run back and forth like little carnival game ducks in a shooting gallery and never find exactly where they got out. When she started brooding outdoors as well, she came up with the portal system and I stole it immediately! What an improvement over what I had been doing!

The portal doors I copied totally eliminated that. Because there are two of them, one on the end and one on the side, they can head for whichever is closer. And because the little wood frame stands out so clearly from the wiring, it's a "right-now" visual clue to them - they don't have to stand there and study what they should do. This has been a brilliant solution for me and all of my subsequent batches of chicks. The beauty to me is that our brooder pen is portable - it's a big dog exercise pen that folds accordion style when not in use and tucks away. We have hardware cloth fastened to the bottom of the pen. We just cut our door holes in, framed them with cheap leftover wood, made a plywood flap with a hook and eye lock, and we were done. When the brooder is put away, we just fold it - hardware cloth, doors and all. It doesn't fold quite as flat as it once did, but it's still flat enough to stand upright in the garage without taking up making much space. So once the brooder pen is built, it never has to be built again. Love that!

Hope it's okay that I jumped in, @aart....I saw the posts talking about doors and since I love this system so much, it's so easy to build, and is a one time shot, I thought I'd share.

 

[Blooie]

Nice job, @aart with good photos! I've been a fan of super early integration for a long time as well. Mine are fully integrated and the brooder pen taken down and removed from the run by the time they are 4 weeks old. Hiding places are always good - in addition to the portal doors in the brooder pen I have a huge log (cut lengthwise) out in there that's away from the brooder. It's hollow, so the cut side is down, forming a big dark cave. So if they get spooked they can run under there as well. I have photo somewhere of 8 older Buff Brahma chicks tucked underneath it...they weren't being harassed - they just liked it! Silly chickens!

One thing I do is when I give the chickens scratch, I run it in 2 lines right at the edge of the brooder. One line is inside the brooder, the other just outside it. Separated by the hardware cloth like they are, the Bigs and the Littles are actually feeding head-to-head but can't get to each other. They don't even realize how it happened but they are eating peacefully together!! So when the Littles show up at the Bigs' feeder during and after integration, it barely even fazes them. Competition over food can get ugly for new flock members, but this way seems to eliminate most of that. Also their feeders are hung so that they are only separated by the brooder wire.

You sound so much like me - I don't panic and stress over every little peck on the noggin that the Littles get when they've overstepped their bounds either. They have learned about being chickens by watching the older birds from the safety of their brooder - eventually they have to learn their place in the coop/run as well. But it's nice that the older birds don't see the little ones as a threat the way they do if we wait to integrate until the chicks are closer in size and fully feathered. Even using the "see, no touch method," that always seemed to me like putting targets in there and telling the flock, "Here ya go, now be nice." knowing it most cases it ain't gonna happen!

Again, very helpful article!

 

[aart]

Every woman should know how to use and read a tape measure....
cause you know some men will tell you that 3 is 6...
course some women might tell you 160 is 130.

Sorry, getting loopy, time for some food.

 

[azygous]

Recently someone asked my advice on adapting a wire dog kennel as a panic room. I told them there's no need to try to cut portals into it. As long as the cage has no bottom, you may simply elevate it a few inches off the ground with bricks or 2 x 4s, adding height as the chicks grow, but still keeping the gap narrow enough so the large chickens can't fit under it.

This would be even safer for the chicks than portals since they can scoot under at any point along the perimeter of the panic room. And you don't wreck your kennel by cutting holes into the sides, maintaining its integrity for its original purpose.

 

[chickfused]

Well, an update on this. Of my batch of 7 littles, only four survived to adulthood. One died nearly straightaway after arrival. Lost one to a persistent coccidia infection that just never seemed to go away, and I think she got predated during a period of weakness. Saw her sick in the morning, went out to treat her 2 hours later and she was gone, never to be seen again. And another met a copperhead snake and took a peck at it. Last thing she ever did.

But the 4 that are left are amazing ladies, and they're all 21 weeks or so at this point. The flocks never did fully integrate, but the roos are starting to show these ladies The Wing and they will eat together and stuff now. They still run from the bigs and give them a wide berth, but it's just respect really. One of the littles fights back when the bigs come after her on the roost. It's full on pecking order jostling. I think the little is going to eventually win honestly, she's very scrappy!

 

[blackdog043]

The brooding pen has been in the coop/run for a couple weeks and the door is the one they always go in and out of. I keep it open enough for them to get into but not the hens when I let them comingle. They panic though and scramble and don't go to it. I think elevating would be much easier for them to get into. Going to give it a shot anyway. We'll see.

I made a cardboard panel with two cut outs, for them to get back in the brooder and they had no problems getting back inside. I don't think leaving my door cracked would have worked.

 

[chickens really]

Hello....

I have a Hen who hatched out two Chicks and I needed the Garage brooder for another Hen and her 7 Chicks....I put my Hen and the two Chicks directly back into the flock at 4 weeks old.....Nothing happened in a negative way...My Other Birds and my Rooster were intrigued by the Chicks....The Rooster tidbits for them and my one Speckled Sussex who has never been Broody was allowing the Chicks to huddle under her for warmth... If the now 8 week old Chicks cry my Rooster runs to look after them...It is amazing to see how natural it all is for them.....I just put together a prefab coop/run yesterday and have it next to my big coop/run and have the other Hen and her 7 inside it....I will after a couple of weeks put them into the flock also being I have another Broody due to hatch out 12 next week.....
In my case I have the Hen to protect her Chicks....I would do a look no touch with Chicks that have no Mother to protect them.....

Interesting conversation starter...


Cheers!

 

[Pstock44]

I created a new thread a little bit ago cause I'm starting final integration of my 4 week old chicks and mama hen into the flock today. Not sure how to link to it or if that's ok but here's a few pics after removing the divider mesh from the separation fence. All the chickens have been able to see each other since they were hatched.

Mama and #1 hen for a minute through the fence.