Intragrating new chickens to old chickens

[Mrs. K]

Try this: let the older birds out to free range. Then put the chicks into the older girls set up. Lock them in there. Let them explore for most of the day without being chased by the older birds that are out free ranging. This allows the chicks to find some safe zones. I have even chased them a little so they find the hide outs.

A pallet on a single layer of cement blocks, where chicks can get under but slows down an older chicken. A one way gate where chicks can fit through but older birds cannot follow will really help. The chicks then explore and get brave on their terms, not human terms, and can retreat to safety.

Then I would I would lock the big girls up in what was the chick set up. Leave them there, let the little ones out to free range a little bit, again, so as to explore without being chased.

Do these things for a couple of days, then put them all together and watch. If the chicks can retreat to the safety zone, you are good to go. If there is a single or a couple of birds that are very mean, they go back to the chick place. Let the nicer older birds and the chicks work it out for several days... then try again. If your chicks out number your older birds, it should help.

Good luck,
Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mrs K, where do the hens lay their eggs if they are locked out of their coop? Are you training them to not lay in their nests?

I'll admit I'm kind of stuck. One or more are attacking the 12 week old chicks when they are free ranging but not when they are locked in the coop/run with the older ones. That's opposite to what should be happening. If you can identify the attackers I'd try isolating them for a week and see how the others get along with the troublemakers gone. That isolation may change their attitude. If it doesn't change attitudes I'd probably make a decision which one I wanted to keep.

 

[Mrs. K]

Really, I have never had too much problem with moving where a hen lays, sometimes they move on me, sometimes I have set up a temporary nest somewhere else. They seem to like having a new nest once in a while. If I set up a temporary nest, and a few days later, remove it and open the laying nests again, does not seem to phase them.

 

[LnFarm1]

They are attacking them in the coop during the day but not at night! not when free ranging! I will try isolating the other two mean ones and see how that goes!

 

[LnFarm1]

The Americana and a IsaBrown are who is being mean! Thought that both breeds were docile?

 

[LnFarm1]

I’m gonna let the big chickens free range all day today to see if that distracts them!

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are attacking them in the coop during the day but not at night! not when free ranging! I will try isolating the other two mean ones and see how that goes!

I misread your first post then, that makes a lot more sense. My mistake. The problem is a combination of space and management technique. They sleep at night so they don't attack then. You don't have enough room in that coop for the young ones to get away from or avoid the older when they are locked in the coop alone. So some possible solutions.

Can you be down there early enough every morning to let them out before they wake up and start attacking the young ones. Give the young enough room to get away by giving them the outside.

Do you consider that run predator proof enough to leave the pop door between the coop and run open at night. That will greatly expand the space available to them when they need it and you can maybe sleep in. It may work, it may not.

Can you put the young ones back where they were housed before you moved them in with the older ones? Let them sleep there at night but free range with the older ones during the day. I'm not sure you let them free range together while sleeping in separate quarters. Let them free range together for a few weeks before you put them in the same coop. They will probably stay far away from each other during the day but they will get more used to each other.

What do the roosts look like inside that coop? it's pretty normal when I'm integrating for the young ones to be on the roost on the morning while the adults are on the coop floor. Do you have the roosts high enough that the adults can't just reach up and peck them from the floor? Do you have enough roosts spread out enough that the young can get away from the adults? They need a way to avoid. I put up a juvenile roost to give mine a safe place to go that is not my nests. My juveniles do not sleep on the main roosts with the adults until they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order, usually around when they start to lay. The main purpose of the juvenile roost is to keep them out of the nests at night, but it also gives them a place to go if they need to get away from the adults.

Your main problem is room. That 8x8 coop may be big enough when they are all adults and integration is over, especially if they have access to that run at least. But to integrate immature pullets with mature hens it is really tight. You are seeing what can happen when they don't have enough room.

Good luck!

 

[LnFarm1]

Update! No issues today so far since the big ones are out free ranging!