Integrating new chicks

[Christie25]

Hello I know this has been talked about a bunch on this thread because I've read every single one and most end with "let them work it out" which I have been trying to do but I think its actually making my 9 week old chicks seem more isolated.

I did the initial integration within the coop in the dog cage. Seemed to be going well, I then did supervised visits in the run and my big hens bullied them a little but let them stay out in the run and eat/drink. Now my big hens are escalating to chasing and scaring my 9 week old chicks back into the coop and not letting them out (they spend all day in the coop with food and water now) They throw them off the roosting bars and I have to go back in to make sure they leave them alone or else they'll continuously peck at them.

I do have a brooder box within the coop. Should I seperate the 9 week old ones again and wait until they are bigger? Or is this normal chicken behavior and they'll work it out? Im kind of at my breaking point with it, I feel terrible for my 9 week olds.

I have 8 just over a year old hens (5 being ISA browns the bullys) and I'm adding 3 mystic marans.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm sure you must realize that the first question that will be asked is, can you please post pictures of your setup? The hands down biggest problem with integration generally comes down to insufficient resources. And the number one insufficient resource is usually space.

my big hens bullied them a little

Don't mistake bullying with teaching chicks their place. True bullying is relentlessly pursuit and inflicting injury.

Now my big hens are escalating to chasing and scaring my 9 week old chicks back into the coop

This sounds to me like a lack of space possibly compounded by not enough feed stations.

I currently have 17 hens, 10 9-week-old pullets and cockerels and 4 six-week old pullets and cockerels. I have three clusters of stump arrangements as well as flat rocks scattered about the run in addition to 10 linear feet of feed troughs for food to go in. There is no bickering at food time they just play musical feed stations. You can try something similar.

Having lots of places to perch and things to hide behind is also very important. If a chick does not get away from a senior hen fast enough that might elicit a peck and or a chase to drive it off. Being able to get out of the line of sight of the pursuer helps a lot. That means you need clutter in your run.

 

[Christie25]

So the coop is 12x12 with the two level roosting bars. The run is also 12x12..I did add another waterer and feeder to the run as well. But I am thinking the run is too small? We plan on extending it further with an uncovered but fenced in area

 

[DobieLover]

The run is a bit small for integration and it looks pretty boring if you're a chicken. There's really not anything in there for them to interact with and nothing to hide behind.
Add more clutter. You can find old wooden chairs and stools that people put out to the curb for garbage collection. They have broken spindles or rungs but it doesn't make any difference to the chicken! You can also collect stumps of varying diameters and heights and make arrangements out of those. They are not only good places for them to sit and hang out on, they make good feed stations. You can lean old pallets up against the wall which make great places to hide.

 

[Christie25]

Okay!! Great ideas, thank you. I will be on the lookout for some clutter (im sure I can find things around my own house LOL) I will get on that this week!

 

[C Siena]

I agree with @DobieLover . You need clutter in the run. Heck a piece of wood/board on a slant, they can run under and dodge. I would also add a few more small feeding stations. I see 5-6 in the run and I think you said you have 5 ISA now. Only 1 feeder is away from the others, I would space them out and add a few more. We used a few corning ware containers from the kitchen.

The 4/5 feed stations in the back corner are so close, the hen only needs to take a step or 2 to peck, and they will. Usually not to hurt but to warn. (pecking order and teaching moment)

Do you free range at all? If so, try only have a couple hens in the run with the chicks. We did this a few days with the milder temperament hens. The ISAs, though ours are nice to me, can be a little strong to the young ones. Maybe have 2 MM with them.

If you do not free range, you'll probably need a larger run for 17. The next couple of months the chicks will grow quickly.
One of our runs w clutter. You probably cannot see it, but we have a grill grate on a slant, a kennel door on a slant and an old fireplace screen leaning on a roost and chair.

 

[Christie25]

We have 11 total counting the 3 new chicks. They free range occasionally but unfortunately my one dog has a high prey drive so mostly they stay in their run. Thanks for the example! I will definitely be adding more to the run for fun, we are planning to extend the run another length because they love foraging in the leaves, we just haven't done it yet. I will also move around the food once I add more to the run so the little ones have places to go

 

[C Siena]

We have 11 total counting the 3 new chicks. They free range occasionally but unfortunately my one dog has a high prey drive so mostly they stay in their run. Thanks for the example! I will definitely be adding more to the run for fun, we are planning to extend the run another length because they love foraging in the leaves, we just haven't done it yet. I will also move around the food once I add more to the run so the little ones have places to go

I thought you had more chicks. I must have read Dobie's post and thought you had more.

How old is your dog? It takes some time, but we trained out Belgian Malinois, who is still hoping one day to catch a squirrel. She was approx 9-10 months old when we began to train her with chickens. After a couple of months of training, she understands they are off bounds...but she still has squirrels. It takes daily (3-4 x day) training on lead. You know best the temperament of your dog and if that drive can be directed away from chickens.

Show us pictures of your cluttered run when you have time. I understand needing to find the time, especially to expand the run. The clutter will help a lot.

Great that you care enough to ask questions and help the chicks become part of the flock.

 

[AinaWGSD]

A run expansion is definitely in order. 12x12 is 144sq ft, which meets the generally acceptable minimum recommended space for 14 chickens. Once everyone is integrated that space would probably be ok, but it's a little tight for introducing new birds to the flock.

That said, I'm currently integrating chickens in a tight space myself. We're working on getting them more space, but the weather and work schedules are being less than cooperative here. The trick is definitely clutter, clutter, clutter.

It's not ideal, I'm definitely seeing feather picking in this flock, but the clutter helps curb the worst of it and gives the littlest chicks plenty of escape options.

 

[C Siena]

A run expansion is definitely in order. 12x12 is 144sq ft, which meets the generally acceptable minimum recommended space for 14 chickens. Once everyone is integrated that space would probably be ok, but it's a little tight for introducing new birds to the flock.

That said, I'm currently integrating chickens in a tight space myself. We're working on getting them more space, but the weather and work schedules are being less than cooperative here. The trick is definitely clutter, clutter, clutter. View attachment 4164653View attachment 4164654View attachment 4164657
It's not ideal, I'm definitely seeing feather picking in this flock, but the clutter helps curb the worst of it and gives the littlest chicks plenty of escape options.

Great clutter, I like the saw horses. We need to remember in integrating, we don't want the area to look like a nice room in our home (well sometimes areas of our home look like a coop/run with clutter ).

Look at all those chicks! How many? What is the grey one with the light grey head? I can't tell if I see muffs.