Our 3 older EE pullets (6 mos old) have been outside in a coop since they were about 9 weeks. We have our 14-16 week olds on the porch. The younger group consists of two Buff Orpingtons (1 male, 1 female) and three silkies of unknown sex. A month ago, the 5 outgrew the hutch they were in and my DH built a bigger one (since so many people said we should wait til they are the same size to try to integrate). Now, the Orpingtons are really getting too large for the hutch on the porch-it's probably only giving them 2 sq ft per bird.
Two weeks ago our Orpington Roo started mounting everyone.....and I mean everyone....In the middle of the night he caused such a ruckus that I thought we had to move the Orps for the safety of the silkies. They are taller than the EEs, just not as beefy yet. The next evening, we put the Orpingtons out in the coop with the EEs. My daughter checked on them at 7 when she left for school and they were all still inside without incident. My husband got up, checked on them, and opened up the coop. Once it was open and the Orps tried to come out into the run after the EEs, the EEs ganged up on the female, cornered her and were beating her up...meanwhile my goofy rooster was trying to get out and ripped part of his beak off on the wire. My husband took them both back in with their buddies on the porch after cleaning up their wounds. There was nothing major on the pullet, I couldn't find anything wrong with her at all. They seem to be perfectly happy in their hutch, but I know it's not enough room and the Orpingtons just keep growing and growing...
My question is.. Do we just have to stick them together and let that happen so they can create a new hierarchy? Should we wait until the Orps are FULL size? My husband thinks we'll never be able to put the silkies out there because the EEs will peck their heads and damage their brains.. When they decide to attack them while freeranging together, they seem to grab their heads and jump on their backs like a rooster would... but I've also seen them peck at the heads. When around the EEs the Orpingtons just run around like chickens with their heads cut off *giggle*...the silkies just sit there..since the roo runs so much, the EEs love to chase him. Will he ever stand his ground??
I'm afraid we built the big coop for all of them and since we got them at different times, we wasted a bunch of space and will have to build another coop/run..
What advice can y'all pass along on integrating these guys? Has anyone ever successfully integrated calmer breeds with an established group of more aggressive EEs? Thanks in advance!
Two weeks ago our Orpington Roo started mounting everyone.....and I mean everyone....In the middle of the night he caused such a ruckus that I thought we had to move the Orps for the safety of the silkies. They are taller than the EEs, just not as beefy yet. The next evening, we put the Orpingtons out in the coop with the EEs. My daughter checked on them at 7 when she left for school and they were all still inside without incident. My husband got up, checked on them, and opened up the coop. Once it was open and the Orps tried to come out into the run after the EEs, the EEs ganged up on the female, cornered her and were beating her up...meanwhile my goofy rooster was trying to get out and ripped part of his beak off on the wire. My husband took them both back in with their buddies on the porch after cleaning up their wounds. There was nothing major on the pullet, I couldn't find anything wrong with her at all. They seem to be perfectly happy in their hutch, but I know it's not enough room and the Orpingtons just keep growing and growing...
My question is.. Do we just have to stick them together and let that happen so they can create a new hierarchy? Should we wait until the Orps are FULL size? My husband thinks we'll never be able to put the silkies out there because the EEs will peck their heads and damage their brains.. When they decide to attack them while freeranging together, they seem to grab their heads and jump on their backs like a rooster would... but I've also seen them peck at the heads. When around the EEs the Orpingtons just run around like chickens with their heads cut off *giggle*...the silkies just sit there..since the roo runs so much, the EEs love to chase him. Will he ever stand his ground??
I'm afraid we built the big coop for all of them and since we got them at different times, we wasted a bunch of space and will have to build another coop/run..
What advice can y'all pass along on integrating these guys? Has anyone ever successfully integrated calmer breeds with an established group of more aggressive EEs? Thanks in advance!
