Integrating new chicks, not going well

[the urban chicken]

Hi all,
I have 2 girls who are 5 years old, a silkie and an ameracauna. I have 6 new chicks who are 7 weeks old (are they considered pullets now?) and I've been trying to integrate them for about a week. The good news is that no one has died. The bad news is that the older ones are bullying the youngsters to the point that I am worried that the youngsters aren't getting enough to eat.

The coop is 6x12 (see attached pix). It has a raised upper area for roosting and nesting and there's a door on it. They all sleep in there (I still have to escort the youngsters upstairs at dusk). Outside of that, there's an area under the "shelf" (we call it "The Cave". It's about 4x6 and about 4 feet tall) that I have partitioned off in hopes of keeping the older girls out while letting the little ones move freely. There is starter feed, water (that is medicated with probiotics every other day), and a couple roosts in The Cave. I have layer feed and water outside The Cave. The little ones don't seem to have a taste for layer feed (yet), but the big ones appear to like the chick feed. That seems to be the cornerstone of my troubles.

The big ones have been pretty intolerant of the little ones and the little ones are now quite afraid of them. When I have them all in the yard (we're in the city, so I can't leave them out all day unattended), there are definitely 2 separate flocks.

In an effort to restrict the big birds' movements and still allow the little ones to move freely, I've placed the partition so that the gap under it is only about 3 or 4". But the big girls are still able to go into The Cave to eat the chick feed. When this happens, the little ones go hide in the nesting area. I'm worried that they aren't getting enough to eat and drink.

I'm thinking that I should simply enclose The Cave completely with chicken wire in order to separate the 2 flocks while still letting them see each other. At night I'll let the little ones sleep in the nesting area with the big girls. In the morning, I'd separate them again. The problem there is that the sun is coming up around 4:30 and I'm not excited about waking up that early to enclose the little ones. Not to mention, I feel that The Cave is kinda small to be stuck in all day. Thoughts?

I read in another thread that I could switch all the feed to grower feed. That might solve part of the problem. Are the eggs ok to eat if they are eating grower feed?

Thanks for your input.

the urban chicken (TUC)

 

[rosemarythyme]

Before you began trying to integrate them, how long did they get to "see but not touch" each other? I'd recommend at least a week of that, maybe two, before you ever let either side actually have access to one another. However since you've mentioned they already have some access to one another, as long as no one's being hurt I don't think I'd mess with it too much at this point, as integration has already begun.

So here's the main part of the problem. The space is pretty small for integration purposes, and you have a silkie, which is so small that using gaps to try and let chicks out while blocking off hens isn't going to work. Since the food is the main concern I'd try to work on resolving that for now.

Hens LOVE chick food so your best bet to get the hens to stop trying to bust into where the younger ones are at is by feeding everyone the exact same diet, so there's not a preferred feeder, and by adding extra feeders. Start/grower is completely fine for hens and often preferred by them. Since you have 2 hens I'd have a minimum of 3 feeders, and I'd place them as far apart as you can reasonably get them (each one towards a corner) while leaving space around them so chicks can feasibly stand on the backside of a feeder and eat while out of line of sight of the adults.

 

[aart]

However since you've mentioned they already have some access to one another, as long as no one's being hurt I don't think I'd mess with it too much at this point, as integration has already begun.

Ditto Dat^^^

Is the 6x12 area the only one they have?
Kind of tight space for that many birds, especially during integration.



Here's some tips about.....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

 

[Stacyoung13]

I put a fence up in a corner of the run, with chicken wire on top. The babies can go in and out, but the adults can’t. Mine are Silkies and Polish. I put the babies food and water I the fence area so that the adults cant get to it. This gives the babies a safe place to eat and drink and hide.

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

I put a fence up in a corner of the run, with chicken wire on top. The babies can go in and out, but the adults can’t. Mine are Silkies and Polish. I put the babies food and water I the fence area so that the adults cant get to it. This gives the babies a safe place to eat and drink and hide.
View attachment 1812420
View attachment 1812421

Great idea on the space that the chicks can get to but older ones can’t. In my experience the longer they can see not touch the better for the babies. Good luck. And more space is ALWAYS better.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hi all,
I have 2 girls who are 5 years old, a silkie and an ameracauna. I have 6 new chicks who are 7 weeks old (are they considered pullets now?) and I've been trying to integrate them for about a week. The good news is that no one has died. The bad news is that the older ones are bullying the youngsters to the point that I am worried that the youngsters aren't getting enough to eat.

The coop is 6x12 (see attached pix). It has a raised upper area for roosting and nesting and there's a door on it. They all sleep in there (I still have to escort the youngsters upstairs at dusk). Outside of that, there's an area under the "shelf" (we call it "The Cave". It's about 4x6 and about 4 feet tall) that I have partitioned off in hopes of keeping the older girls out while letting the little ones move freely. There is starter feed, water (that is medicated with probiotics every other day), and a couple roosts in The Cave. I have layer feed and water outside The Cave. The little ones don't seem to have a taste for layer feed (yet), but the big ones appear to like the chick feed. That seems to be the cornerstone of my troubles.

The big ones have been pretty intolerant of the little ones and the little ones are now quite afraid of them. When I have them all in the yard (we're in the city, so I can't leave them out all day unattended), there are definitely 2 separate flocks.

In an effort to restrict the big birds' movements and still allow the little ones to move freely, I've placed the partition so that the gap under it is only about 3 or 4". But the big girls are still able to go into The Cave to eat the chick feed. When this happens, the little ones go hide in the nesting area. I'm worried that they aren't getting enough to eat and drink.

I'm thinking that I should simply enclose The Cave completely with chicken wire in order to separate the 2 flocks while still letting them see each other. At night I'll let the little ones sleep in the nesting area with the big girls. In the morning, I'd separate them again. The problem there is that the sun is coming up around 4:30 and I'm not excited about waking up that early to enclose the little ones. Not to mention, I feel that The Cave is kinda small to be stuck in all day. Thoughts?

I read in another thread that I could switch all the feed to grower feed. That might solve part of the problem. Are the eggs ok to eat if they are eating grower feed?

Thanks for your input.

the urban chicken (TUC)

That is a very small coop all those birds

 

[the urban chicken]

Thank you for all the input. I have some work to do...