Integration struggles

[black_cat]

We recently acquired two white leghorn (hopefully) pullets to add to our flock of 3. I separated areas of both the coop and run with wire, have been feeding them near each other, etc. the leghorns have now gone through both the wire in the coop and the run, despite the pecking from older birds when they got close. Should I let them in together even though it has only been two days of integration?
Picture of the leghorns. You can see the wire divider in it. They have not been going through the holes and have instead been squeaking through gaps between the wire and walls, rhat I have been securing after each escape.

 

[sammi_lynn12]

Mine spent 3 weeks in a smaller pen inside the original chickens pen and also slept in there own pen in the coop. I always had separation between the two flocks for three weeks. I let them integrate supervised after three weeks of that and had little to almost no fighting or anything. My RIR are the only ones who'd run the new ones off of treats but that was it. They have been together for a few weeks now and are one big happy flock!

 

[black_cat]

Mine spent 3 weeks in a smaller pen inside the original chickens pen and also slept in there own pen in the coop. I always had separation between the two flocks for three weeks. I let them integrate supervised after three weeks of that and had little to almost no fighting or anything. My RIR are the only ones who'd run the new ones off of treats but that was it. They have been together for a few weeks now and are one big happy flock!

My issue is that the new ones are repeatedly leaving the smaller pens to be in with the flock. They do this even though the others have pecked at them on occasion.

 

[Burnt Brass Homestead]

I agree with @sammi_lynn12. I do the same thing with chickens that hatched in the incubator. Once they are old enough, we put them in a separate cage inside the larger coop enclosure for a couple weeks. Then integrate them at night into the main coop.

That seems to work for us.

 

[black_cat]

I agree with @sammi_lynn12. I do the same thing with chickens that hatched in the incubator. Once they are old enough, we put them in a separate cage inside the larger coop enclosure for a couple weeks. Then integrate them at night into the main coop.

That seems to work for us.

I am attempting to do that, but the younger ones are choosing to leave their spaces that I have tried to make un leaveable.

 

[black_cat]

They still are not getting along. We ended up closing the larger ones into the area allotted for the small ones, as the small ones are underneath the coop where I cannot easily reach them. How do I keep the small ones contained??? They seem determined to get out of their safe areas.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Need to find a way to close up the gaps better so they can't sneak out for now - maybe bust out a pack of twist ties and get it as tightly secured as possible. Is the sectioned off "pen" covered? They could also just fly out if it's not.

 

[black_cat]

Need to find a way to close up the gaps better so they can't sneak out for now - maybe bust out a pack of twist ties and get it as tightly secured as possible. Is the sectioned off "pen" covered? They could also just fly out if it's not.

No, because there is only one door to the run and I need to be able to access the entirety of it. I will take pictures tomorrow. I’m not sure how to cover it and still make it so I can easily get through if needed without dismantling anything.

 

[black_cat]

No, because there is only one door to the run and I need to be able to access the entirety of it. I will take pictures tomorrow. I’m not sure how to cover it and still make it so I can easily get through if needed without dismantling anything.

This photo is taken from above in .5 mode. This welded wire divides the tall part of the run down the diagonal, and is four feet tall. Despite my efforts to open the “door” of it (aka unhooking it from the side farthest from the food) without using my hands as a chicken would, I have not been able to. I don’t understand how they did it yesterday. The half of the run that doesn’t have access to the main door is connected to the run space underneath the coop, as well as through the pop door into the coop. In the coop there is another wire barrier that sections off one roost at the back and allows access from the main coop door. I have been carrying the small birds there each evening and back to the run each morning.

 

[Sally PB]

I stapled my 2x3 fence divider to anything it touched that was wood, and zip tied to anything I couldn't staple, ie, metal poles or other fence. I wish I had taken better pictures of the "door" between the littles' area and the main run, but I didn't, so I'll have to try to describe it.

I stapled the end of the fence securely to a piece of wood (the bit in the picture that has a bunch of horizontal lines, as it was exterior siding). That was the vertical, opening side of the "door." I drilled (2) 3/8" diameter holes through the wood and put zip ties through the holes, making a large loop with the tie, not pulling it tight.

The "door jamb" was a 2x4 that was part of the run wall. I screwed in 2 cup hooks at the same height as the loops. Position of the hooks was important; when the loops were hooked over the cup hooks, the "door" had to be shut with no gaps.

To stiffen the fence so it didn't flop over, I took some metal poles (I got them at TSC in the electric fence department) and wove them through the fence, then shoved them into the ground. One of the poles was the "hinge" side of the door.

Since the 2x3 fence was 4' tall -- not high enough to contain the littles -- I used odd pieces of chicken wire to bridge the gap between the fence and the roof of the run. Again, zip ties held everything together. (Half of my run is held together with zip ties.)

The door part of the 2x3 fence was only 4' high, and I had to duck down low to get under the chicken wire that was above it. Caught my hair several times, but well, it's for chickens, and it's only for 2-3 weeks, so I could handle it.

It looks like Darl, my rooster, has his head through the fence in the picture, but he doesn't. The fence was repurposed, and had lots of bends and waves that wouldn't flatten out.

And I want to say, hey, @black_cat, hello! I've missed seeing you here on BYC!