Integrating young pullets with mature hens - what's the best age?

[MollySunshine]

Beekissed and aart: thanks so much!!!! I will work to improve the nature of my run this Saturday. It is now on my top things to do. Their living conditions are my prime concern. I am happy to see you don't recommend letting the chickies out unsupervised. It would have really bothered me to do so

 

[Chickle2014]

Oh my goodness! That would have been very difficult to see! How old are your chickens? Things are getting better here - we added another roost to the coop that is the same height as the one that seems to be causing the problems, and move the "babies" (3 1/2 old pullets) to it at night. We also almost, but not quite doubled our chicken yard, so with these changes it seems to be improving. Keeping my fingers crossed we are over the worst of it!

 

[Coop de Grass]

That's one way to handle it. Another is to build such strong immune systems in your flock that you don't have to worry about disease being introduced...and that's not luck, it takes work and fortitude and it is successful, even more so than quarantines. I take the latter approach as it's more sustainable and much more effective for the life of your flock keeping years.

One thing I do take into considerations are carry on pests, so new birds get dusted and slathered with CO on legs, feet and combs. Other than that, I have no fears of disease happening here.

I agree that building good immune systems is important, but when you have a small flock and are trying to increase it without hatching eggs, that would be extremely difficult. Other than that, I basically agree with you. Lucky for me, I don't have to cull any birds, but the ones that have been taken by hawks, or illness, are greatly missed. Our original flock was 9, one of the ones that died from illness was one that my husband had rescued from a hawk. He rushed it to a vet, and we nursed her back to health. She was his favorite hen, and that is really something considering that he didn't want chickens at all.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Update. My FBCM 5 week olds went into a mini coop with attached mini run, inside the main run last week. Each night I have gone down to close up the runs and close the door to the mini coop. The past 5 days, they have been allowed to run through small openings in their run. Yesterday, the mini run was removed, and everyone is happily integrated, except that they roam a bit further every day.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree that building good immune systems is important, but when you have a small flock and are trying to increase it without hatching eggs, that would be extremely difficult. Other than that, I basically agree with you. Lucky for me, I don't have to cull any birds, but the ones that have been taken by hawks, or illness, are greatly missed. Our original flock was 9, one of the ones that died from illness was one that my husband had rescued from a hawk. He rushed it to a vet, and we nursed her back to health. She was his favorite hen, and that is really something considering that he didn't want chickens at all.

It's all difficult, as one has to have the fortitude to cull when necessary, without letting sentimentality to get in the way. You can do this in a small flock as well, as the addition of chicks will have to come, be they from the hatchery or from your own flock eventually if you intend to have eggs. At that point, the yearly or, as necessary, culling is even more important.

It also helps when integrating new chicks to have already thinned out the older flock....less older hens, less problems with integration. It's even more helpful if you let your flock broodies raise up some foster chicks so that the integration is done as a natural process by their own foster mom.

Quote:
...and this is where the difficult part begins. Favorite hens. Nursing "back to health". "Lucky for me, I don't have to cull any birds". And, finally, "died from an illness". All these statements are why it's difficult to stick to this kind of flock management or to even start it....one has to realize that culling will happen, be it by predator or illness, so it might as well be you and it might as well be done while the birds are in good health so the meat is not wasted and, finally, it might as well be done for a good purpose.

That good purpose is to build a stronger flock so that when you introduce more birds into it...and you will have to eventually if you are not hatching your own....that you don't have the worry about what those new birds are bringing to the coop.

The relative size of the flock does not preclude the need for culling as culling will come whether you want it or not. It might as well be a good cull, done with purpose and giving the bird a more humane death than suffering with an illness.

 

[bobbi-j]

It's all difficult, as one has to have the fortitude to cull when necessary, without letting sentimentality to get in the way. You can do this in a small flock as well, as the addition of chicks will have to come, be they from the hatchery or from your own flock eventually if you intend to have eggs. At that point, the yearly or, as necessary, culling is even more important.

It also helps when integrating new chicks to have already thinned out the older flock....less older hens, less problems with integration. It's even more helpful if you let your flock broodies raise up some foster chicks so that the integration is done as a natural process by their own foster mom.


...and this is where the difficult part begins. Favorite hens. Nursing "back to health". "Lucky for me, I don't have to cull any birds". And, finally, "died from an illness". All these statements are why it's difficult to stick to this kind of flock management or to even start it....one has to realize that culling will happen, be it by predator or illness, so it might as well be you and it might as well be done while the birds are in good health so the meat is not wasted and, finally, it might as well be done for a good purpose.

That good purpose is to build a stronger flock so that when you introduce more birds into it...and you will have to eventually if you are not hatching your own....that you don't have the worry about what those new birds are bringing to the coop.

The relative size of the flock does not preclude the need for culling as culling will come whether you want it or not. It might as well be a good cull, done with purpose and giving the bird a more humane death than suffering with an illness.

Well said, Bee! Especially that last sentence.

 

[unbaked pegga]

8-10 weeks is a fine age to begin allowing physical interaction, as long as they've been within eyeshot of each other for at least a few weeks.

I can't let mine out to free range with my other 3 Orpingtons. She is light as a feather and fast as quicksilver. She would fly right over the fence. She needs to be bigger and heavier b4 I would trust it.

 

[Coop de Grass]

It's all difficult, as one has to have the fortitude to cull when necessary, without letting sentimentality to get in the way. You can do this in a small flock as well, as the addition of chicks will have to come, be they from the hatchery or from your own flock eventually if you intend to have eggs. At that point, the yearly or, as necessary, culling is even more important.

It also helps when integrating new chicks to have already thinned out the older flock....less older hens, less problems with integration. It's even more helpful if you let your flock broodies raise up some foster chicks so that the integration is done as a natural process by their own foster mom.


...and this is where the difficult part begins. Favorite hens. Nursing "back to health". "Lucky for me, I don't have to cull any birds". And, finally, "died from an illness". All these statements are why it's difficult to stick to this kind of flock management or to even start it....one has to realize that culling will happen, be it by predator or illness, so it might as well be you and it might as well be done while the birds are in good health so the meat is not wasted and, finally, it might as well be done for a good purpose.

That good purpose is to build a stronger flock so that when you introduce more birds into it...and you will have to eventually if you are not hatching your own....that you don't have the worry about what those new birds are bringing to the coop.

The relative size of the flock does not preclude the need for culling as culling will come whether you want it or not. It might as well be a good cull, done with purpose and giving the bird a more humane death than suffering with an illness.

I have had to cull 2 chicks that I hatched but failed to thrive. I know that it is one of the things you need to deal with when you hatch chicks, but it is not something that I can picture doing with the older hens. My flock was never intended to be a commercial operation. I was filling my empty nest and those girls have become family.

 

[Beekissed]

I can't say that any of my chickens are family....I have a real family available....but nor are they a commercial flock. They are just a healthy, free ranging, productive group of birds that live a great life and earn a good death here.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Well said, Bee! Especially that last sentence.

I totally agree with Bee about " done with purpose and giving the bird a more humane death than suffering with an illness." That was why I put down the two chicks. They weren't thriving at all, and it had to be done. My husband volunteered but I insisted that I needed to do it myself. Wrung the neck of the first one and will never do that again. Used started fluid for the second one. Not sure that was much better. Not ready for scissors.