Integrating chicks with flock

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

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...

I did move the the small fence into the run so that they were more separated but got scared when two big ones jumped over in there with them.
Thar would be cornering them unless they got back through the small little tunnel to the rest of the run...which they don't seem to be using at all except for when I pushed em through it to show it to em.
Yeah I'm a worry wart...juat hate for anything to happen.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I did put extra feeders and waters.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

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.

Maybe I made the tight spot too large...cuz they didn't seem to care and were just happy go lucky.

 

[azygous]

You need to be confident that your chicks are fast and will evade the adults. You can give yourself more reassurance by sitting for an hour and watching their behavior. I'm sure you will see the babies are quickly getting out of the way of the adults and the adults are merely giving the chicks glancing discipline pecks to show them they need to respect their elders.

Keep observing for a while and you may see a dangerous situation and be able to correct it. As @coach723 pointed out, space, space, space and be sure there are no places a chick can find itself cornered without an escape route. That's when you invite tragedy.

Give your chicks the safe haven where no adults can breach it and your chicks will be safe. I have a dedicated pen inside my run with chick size entrances where my chicks are brooded and grow up from day-old chicks. As long as they fit through the little openings, my chicks continue to have a safe area where no adults can bother them. It makes for a very peaceful flock. This pen is also used for sick or elderly chickens that need a safe place where the other chickens can't pick on them. Every run should have such a pen, whether you use it for an outdoor brooder or a sick bay or a jail for a naughty disruptive chicken. It's essential for smooth flock management.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

You need to be confident that your chicks are fast and will evade the adults. You can give yourself more reassurance by sitting for an hour and watching their behavior. I'm sure you will see the babies are quickly getting out of the way of the adults and the adults are merely giving the chicks glancing discipline pecks to show them they need to respect their elders.

Keep observing for a while and you may see a dangerous situation and be able to correct it. As @coach723 pointed out, space, space, space and be sure there are no places a chick can find itself cornered without an escape route. That's when you invite tragedy.

Give your chicks the safe haven where no adults can breach it and your chicks will be safe. I have a dedicated pen inside my run with chick size entrances where my chicks are brooded and grow up from day-old chicks. As long as they fit through the little openings, my chicks continue to have a safe area where no adults can bother them. It makes for a very peaceful flock. This pen is also used for sick or elderly chickens that need a safe place where the other chickens can't pick on them. Every run should have such a pen, whether you use it for an outdoor brooder or a sick bay or a jail for a naughty disruptive chicken. It's essential for smooth flock management.View attachment 2957062

This is my goal on slightly smaller scale using the pre-fab coop with extended run I added to it making it 8' in length within 10x20 large run.
i just can't use it for that purpose yet until I get them integrated so they are all using the big new coop 10x4.

Edited to add:
They are super fast!

 

[coach723]

I have a similar set up. I have a nursery run that is parallel to my covered run and separated by fencing. It has a bird door that can be open or closed to the covered run, and a gate to the outside run, depending on whether I want access between or not. When I have small chicks I put up a temporary barrier (hardware cloth and fencing) that splits my covered run and the babies are protected and have access to inside or outside, but everyone can see each other. When they're big enough I open the temporary fence for supervised periods (usually while I'm out there doing my daily chores). This has made integrating very painless for the most part. By the time they are ready, everybody is pretty familiar with everyone else. Besides being a nursery, it's very useful for separating recuperating birds or cockerels that are being separated, when no chicks are in residence.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Went out n took pics so yall could see my setup...I know prob overthinking as usual but just trying to do what I can til they are integrated and next time I'll be able to use pre-fab coop as integration...but can't this time cuz older chickens still use it.
2 blue arrows show the 2 smaller holes for the babies to go through to get on safer side. I am still using the black portable fencing for more security and separation...do I need to keep that up a few more days?

 

[Auntiejessi3]

How frickin cute! I love your dust bath area!

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

How frickin cute! I love your dust bath area!

Lol thanks! Mine didn't turn out nearly as cute as pinterest but it is functional and those small pieces took me n hubs forever to cut by hand! We must really like to do everything the hard way! Lol

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Lol thanks! Mine didn't turn out nearly as cute as pinterest but it is functional and those small pieces took me n hubs forever to cut by hand! We must really like to do everything the hard way! Lol

Hey whatever works for ya'll, that's what it's all about!