integrating flock, is this a good idea?

[chickengirl1193]

I have 4 LF pullets in a coop and 3 EEs (2 pullets one roo) from my NYD hatch that are in my shed right now. We built a bigger coop and in the next 2 weeks we are going to put it outside and build a new run on a different side of the property.
When the new coop is all set up, after dark, I will bring the pullets and the EE chicks into the.new coop so they will be in a new coop with new chickens.
I have been letting the two flocks see each other every day so they wont be entirely new.
Is this a good idea or is that too many.changes at once? If this idea is no good what is a better way to make the transition?

 

[SIMZ]

It seems that putting them all in a new coop would be ideal. They'll all be a bit "off", so it might take their attention off picking on the smaller chickens. Good luck!

 

[cstronks]

Transitions are very difficult. You can never be sure how it will go. Although the chickens have seen the new birds, it still may be a good idea to attempt to put the new birds in some sort of animal crate or quarter them off inside a new coop so that the chickens can really get face to face with the new birds without any confrontation. It sounds like an extra step, but it could be worth the violence and will induce the integrating stress a bit earlier.

 

[Puddin Fluff]

It seems that putting them all in a new coop would be ideal.  They'll all be a bit "off", so it might take their attention off picking on the smaller chickens.  Good luck!

I agree. Sounds like you are on the right track wth letting them see eachother before hand as well. We let ous free range together with supervision before we penned them togetger. Be prepwred to spend a little extra observation time just to head off any problems.

Good luck.

 

[TheChickInn]

Sounds like you have a good plan in place. It is always tricky putting new chickens in with an established flock, but they eventually get it all figured out. There will always be a top hen and an underdog in any coop. We have a rank Ameraucana that we had to separate from our others last fall. She is one of our top show birds, she thinks she is pretty special, and was chasing all of my other chickens away from the food and nesting boxes. I feel bad keeping her by herself- but she is a holy terror, and we have not had any problems since she was removed from the flock. Good luck!

 

[chickengirl1193]

Thank youu everyone for the advice! Ill put a partition in the coop so that they cant get to each other at first and ill see how it goes. Thanks guys!