Integration(idk why says hatching, meant management sorry)

[Dmb]

New to the forum, happy to be here…Currently have 4 hens that are about 4 years old in a coop(that fits 20) that get free range for the day. Recently picked up 6 baby chicks, who are now 14 weeks old. They are currently in a separate coop, but free range in the same area as the older hens. Have slowly started to let them free range together, but now want to fully integrate. One hen initially was a little bit of a bully when I first took the temp fence down, but has calmed down as time went on. So my question is, how can I fully integrate the younger chickens into the same coop as the older chickens? There is plenty of room inside and out in the coop for them to roost. I have read to do it at night but that is going to be my very last resort. Should I wait til 16 weeks? Or should I force them in and monitor for a little? Thank you for your help!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi, and welcome to BYC!

So they free-range together, which is good. How far is it from where the younger ones go at night to the coop?

One way to do it is lock the younger ones out of their "coop" and put a light inside the chicken door. We have a battery lantern we use. Then just herd them to the light. That method takes about four days before they'll just go in and stay in.

With our silkies, we've just put some hens in the huge growout pen, and they all get along pretty well. The hens will sort of be bullies about things, but nothing violent. At night, they all pile into their hutch for the night.

To try do this during the day isn't going to work so easy as you'd have to lock the young ones in, meaning the older ones have to sleep outside until you open the door for them, and hope the younger ones are settled so they stay in.

 

[nuthatched]

It says hatching under your name because you're new.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined!

a coop(that fits 20)

How big is that coop, in feet or meters? Typically a coop advertised to hold 20 will only hold 10. It would be nice to know what you are working with.

how can I fully integrate the younger chickens into the same coop as the older chickens? T

You may need to change your definition of "fully integrated" when you are talking about younger chickens. To me, fully integrated means no one is getting hurt. All that one flock eating, playing, and roosting together will come later, when they are all mature (usually about when the younger start laying). Until then it is fairly common that you have two separate flocks, peacefully coexisting but physically separated during the day and at night. Some mingle a lot more than that but many don't. That is another misconception, that all chickens are identical. They are not, each has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. Some will be able to peacefully mingle a lot more than others.

It sounds like your goal is to get them all sleeping in the same coop. There are different ways to try this. My method, after they have proven they can range together outside without anyone getting hurt, is to wait until dark. Move the younger into the main coop and lock the door after it is too dark for them to see that well in there. Lock up their old coop so they cannot get back inside. In the morning be down there at daybreak when they are waking up. See how peaceful it is. Open the pop door so they all can get outside when they want to. Then walk away as long as it is peaceful.

Sometimes they all go in there the next night. Sometimes they try to go to bed near their old coop. I consistently move them to the main coop every night after dark (gives them a chance to go to the main coop plus they are easier to catch after dark) until they start going in on their own. That usually does not take long but I've had a couple of broods that it took three weeks before the last ones finally went in on their own.

When I put them in at night I just toss them onto the coop floor. They will be OK, they will sort out where they sleep. Typically that is separate from my adults. Not always, but typically. Once they start laying they will move to the main roosts with the older chickens. I don't care where they sleep as long as it is predator safe and not in my nests. They will be OK.

What I typically find in the morning when I go down there to let them out is that the adults are on the coop floor and the young ones are on the roosts. My roosts are high enough that they are a safe haven from the adults on the coop floor, not sure how high yours are. They have found a way to be peacefully separated while locked in there. Once they prove to me that they are not going to get massacred when they wake up I wait until a more normal time to let them out.

I have read to do it at night but that is going to be my very last resort.

I do it at night but not until they have proven to me that they can coexist during the day. This often works even if they have not spent time together before hand if the young have a safe place to go but occasionally you get a hen that goes after the strangers.

Should I wait til 16 weeks? Or should I force them in and monitor for a little?

What do you think you gain by waiting? The pullets will not have gained enough maturity to enter the pecking older until they start to lay. I move mine in either at 5 weeks of age or 8 weeks of age, depending on circumstances. Since yours have been ranging together I see no reason to wait.