Integrating chicks with flock

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I have three 9 month old silkies (2 pullets and 1 cockrel). I have four 8 week old satin silkies that I have been working to integrate slowly over the past 3 weeks.
They have been separated by a fence until we had them all in the garage during our big snow and single digits last week. So I used that time to do supervised visits. I'm posting this video in hopes to learn how rough is too rough and to determine if integration is ok at this point in time.

The babies are in the brand new coop and since we were pushing to get it completed before bad weather it does not have door to the run cut as of yet. So I am having to hand walk the babies around to the 10x20 run to integrate with older silkies.
The older ones are still in the pre-fab coop inside the run. I'm guessing it is definitely too soon to move them to the new coop with the babies based on this video.
Thank yall for your feedback.

 

[azygous]

I'd like for you to watch your own video. Note how the youngsters are trying their best to skirt the older ones and avoid them. Then an adult pecks at a chick and the chick tries to run away and finds no room to achieve distance.

Everything with your little flock is normal. The behavior of the two age groups is completely normal. The only think lacking is space so the two age groups can peacefully co-exist. Put these two groups in a run with lots of space so the youngsters can avoid the adults, and they should all settle in with one another pretty quickly.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I'd like for you to watch your own video. Note how the youngsters are trying their best to skirt the older ones and avoid them. Then an adult pecks at a chick and the chick tries to run away and finds no room to achieve distance.

Everything with your little flock is normal. The behavior of the two age groups is completely normal. The only think lacking is space so the two age groups can peacefully co-exist. Put these two groups in a run with lots of space so the youngsters can avoid the adults, and they should all settle in with one another pretty quickly.

I understand and they are all back outside now...I just fear leaving them in the 10x20 run without any supervision.
I cut a tunnel out of the bottom of a hay bale but the chicks haven't discovered it...that took forever and seems wasted effort on my part.
I have several areas within the coop for them to run around - but I don't believe there are any "secure" places the chicks can go completely.
Do I need to do anything along those lines before leaving them in there unsupervised?

 

[3KillerBs]

Run clutter is critical. Have a look at what I did with my chicks this fall.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/setting-up-an-integration-facility.1496470/

 

[azygous]

If you can find a way to utilize a type of "panic room" for the chicks, it would really cinch their safety. This can be achieved by dedicating a small area for this refuge either by fencing off a little area within the run with several small entrances only large enough for the chicks and not the adults or find a dog crate that has a removable floor and elevate the floor-less cage up on blocks to provide a narrow space all along the bottom for the chicks to duck under. If food and water are provided in this refuge, the chicks then have a safe haven. It won't take but a few minutes for the chicks to discover this if you start them out inside the refuge.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

This is what I set up for my littles last year, the door was propped open just enough for the littles. Integration was complete within a couple weeks

https://www.backyardchickens.com/attachments/20210417_204055-jpg.2622405/

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I had a couple cinder blocks in the run with small hay bale on top of it...so I separated the blocks so the chicks can run in between the block with hay bale over the top to give em protection but they can't all fit in that...it's more or less a tunnel to their side that is fenced off with food and water...but the BIG hay bale is serving as a bridge that they are all getting on...then I just looked and 2 large ones had jumped hay bale and were over with babies.
Ran down and moved big ones out and sat stuff on top of big hay bale so we'll see.
But it's a good thing they didn't hurt em during that short time they were together right...does that mean they are getting along better or do I still need to be super careful?

 

[3KillerBs]

I had a couple cinder blocks in the run with small hay bale on top of it...so I separated the blocks so the chicks can run in between the block with hay bale over the top to give em protection but they can't all fit in that...it's more or less a tunnel to their side that is fenced off with food and water...but the BIG hay bale is serving as a bridge that they are all getting on...then I just looked and 2 large ones had jumped hay bale and were over with babies.
Ran down and moved big ones out and sat stuff on top of big hay bale so we'll see.
But it's a good thing they didn't hurt em during that short time they were together right...does that mean they are getting along better or do I still need to be super careful?

Did you see how I made the tight corner in my integration pen? The adults *could* get over, but they didn't like being in the tight spot.

I also had chick-size access at both ends so that if an ill-disposed adult went after them they could squirt through.

I did the same with the previous batch, where the older chicks would pursue the younger ones until the little ones squirted through a small tunnel (aka a chunk of plywood leaned against the coop wall.

 

[coach723]

The #1 most important issue when integrating birds (chicks or adults) is space. The more they have the better it goes. Giving them things to hide behind or get up and away on, are helpful, but you need to make sure that no one can be cornered or trapped anywhere. With enough space, once birds are fully feathered they are old enough to know to get out of the way of the older birds, they just need the room to be able to do that. If they move when the boss says to, then usually that's the end of it. Also, make sure you have extra feeders and waterers, spread out, so that the littles have plenty of chances to get to them and the bigs don't keep them from getting to any.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I know how paranoid you're feeling, but really from your video that all looked pretty harmless given the small amount of space they had. Maybe you could put that little pen in your run and prop the door...