Introducing a lot of chickens to a few hens

[NwChickOwner]

I would love some advice. We have a flock of nine hens that are a year old. We ordered 25 new chicks but the hatchery sent 47! Only one passed in the first day so we now have 46. Our coop is 100 square feet with a 480 square foot run (predators in the area). Is this introduction going to be too much for the flock of nine that are already here? There are also 6 chick bantams, straight run, so we may have new roosters. I’ve read all the advice about how to let them near each other but not able to actually get each other. I haven’t seen anything on introducing so many to a small flock. Help!

 

[JedJackson]

If possible, divide up the coop and run for a while so they can see but not hurt each other. Honestly, I think the older hens are going to be overwhelmed by that number of new birds, so it's going to be chaos no matter what you do. It's going to be stressful for the birds and you can expect laying to slow down or stop until things are worked out in the flock. Space is going to be a big issue because your 9 hens are used to having lots of space, and they won't anymore. i expect that the hens will be pretty aggressive to the younger ones. One thing I recommend is setting up several feeding and watering stations so everyone has access.

It might be easier to introduce a few at a time. I'm curious to read what others have to say.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I think you have a decent situation. But how old are the new birds?
Normally, introducing like numbers and like sizes is best.
For instance it can be a issue introducing young birds to adults. But when bringing in new birds, it is best if the new flock is more numerous than the home girls, as is the case there. Now the question is the ages.

 

[JedJackson]

I forgot to add that the coop is probably too small for that many birds. 3 to 5 square feet is the minimum recommended amount. If I were you, I would either make it bigger or sell some of your birds.

 

[NwChickOwner]

I think you have a decent situation. But how old are the new birds?
Normally, introducing like numbers and like sizes is best.
For instance it can be an issue introducing young birds to adults. But when bringing in new birds, it is best if the new flock is more numerous than the home girls, as is the case there. Now the question is the ages.

the new birds are about 3-7 days old. Both flocks are mixed flocks. Our old gals range from a small mixed (not as small as bantam but very small) to a Barnevelder (our largest). The new flock is also all mixed but I ordered only one per breed and was sent a couple per breed. I had read if there’s only one per breed in a mixed flock that is better?

 

[NwChickOwner]

I forgot to add that the coop is probably too small for that many birds. 3 to 5 square feet is the minimum recommended amount. If I were you, I would either make it bigger or sell some of your birds.

I can make it bigger

 

[JedJackson]

I can make it bigger

I think that would help. Chickens tend to be much more aggressive with each other when space is a problem. Yet another thing I forgot to mention is that it is a good idea to give the young ones places where they can escape to when they're being bullied. Things they can hide behind and not be easily seen, and places where they can roost, like old branches, in the run. You may need to increase roost space in the coop as well depending on what you have available now.

I've said all of this stuff for preparation, but really you can't know for sure what will happen until you get the birds together. It may work out fine pretty quickly or it may take longer.

 

[Mrs. K]

Introducing them will be easy if you have enough escapes, and a lot of clutter in your run. I create a pen in the run, that the chicks can escape from, they are not locked in there, however, big chickens cannot fit in to this. What works best for me, is a fence that is a few inches off the ground. Chicks run in and out like nothing is there, and the hens cannot follow.

I start off with my chicks in that playpen with food and water there and a box or small dog crate. At first they won't wander far, and will scurry back to safety if approached.

I also lay some pallets down through out the run, just barely off the ground. Chicks can escape underneath them and are out of sight, out of reach and safe.

With a huge number of chicks like that - the hens will tire of chasing them quickly, more than likely just a peck or two, and ignore them. It is much easier to introduce a lot of chicks rather than just a few. And do it when the chicks are about 3 weeks old. While you wait, have them sleep at night in the dog crate or cardboard box, so they home to it. In a week, they will be eating right next to the layers, but will be a sub flock, until they lay.

When it starts getting dark, they will go to their crate. Pick up the crate and put it in the coop.

While they are chicks and it is summer- you can cheat on the numbers...but before October- you really need to make sure that the number of birds fits the coop you have on hand, not going to build later.

Mrs K

 

[NwChickOwner]

Introducing them will be easy if you have enough escapes, and a lot of clutter in your run. I create a pen in the run, that the chicks can escape from, they are not locked in there, however, big chickens cannot fit in to this. What works best for me, is a fence that is a few inches off the ground. Chicks run in and out like nothing is there, and the hens cannot follow.

I start off with my chicks in that playpen with food and water there and a box or small dog crate. At first they won't wander far, and will scurry back to safety if approached.

I also lay some pallets down through out the run, just barely off the ground. Chicks can escape underneath them and are out of sight, out of reach and safe.

With a huge number of chicks like that - the hens will tire of chasing them quickly, more than likely just a peck or two, and ignore them. It is much easier to introduce a lot of chicks rather than just a few. And do it when the chicks are about 3 weeks old. While you wait, have them sleep at night in the dog crate or cardboard box, so they home to it. In a week, they will be eating right next to the layers, but will be a sub flock, until they lay.

When it starts getting dark, they will go to their crate. Pick up the crate and put it in the coop.

While they are chicks and it is summer- you can cheat on the numbers...but before October- you really need to make sure that the number of birds fits the coop you have on hand, not going to build later.

Mrs K

Thank you so much for this thoughtful and informative reply. Those are great suggestions and I can implement them all. Is it okay to wait until 4 weeks? My concern is the Marek's vaccine having time to work. We had two chickens die last year without definitive causes even with an avian vet involved so Marek's isn't ruled out.

Our family was discussing different options yesterday and increasing the space of the run will be a lot of work because we have so many types of predators in the area, so everything is extensively reinforced, but we can do that.

The issue we are concerned about is that when we built the coop, we built it the largest we could under the local laws, 120 square feet. If all the chickens survive, then it won't be big enough. Do you think that any of the vertical platform options are acceptable to the chickens? Or should we be considering building another coop and run area?

Our chickens are very loved in our family and we want them to be healthy and happy but we did NOT want 46 chickens! But they are here now and my kids are already attached, so now I want to make the chicken environment as healthy as possible for them. Gosh, I just wrote you a lot, I hope I'm not overwhelming you!

 

[Mrs. K]

No this won't work. 46 + 9 =55 head? You would need a huge coop of about 220 square feet, 20 x 11. Oh wait, and 6 bantams...bad case of chicken math. It really won't work, it will really be a wreck. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but sell some birds. Keep them till they feather out and are fun to watch and play, but when they stop being chicks, and older, start selling birds. I figure you can keep about 30 full size birds in your current set up, and if you have laws regulating the size of the coop, you need to stay within that.

And space is space - where are your kids going to play? Young kids playing naturally often times do not work well with chickens. Visiting the coop a couple times a day is different than sharing a play space with them. (See the part on roosters)

Start talking to your kids about the difference in keeping individual birds and keeping a flock, with birds coming and going into the flock. A lot of chickens die, rather young, it is too bad, but it happens. Talk about when you loose birds, then there is room for new birds, the circle of life. These are important life lessons.

Start talking to your kids now about being realistic. Really talk about how important it is to keep a healthy happy flock, verses keeping birds over crowed in misery. Maybe have each child pick one or two that is being kept.

It is very hard to imagine all these chicks as big hens, but they will be there. Over crowded chickens live miserable lives, and develop horrible habits such as feather picking, pecking holes in each other, bullying, and some victims can even die.

That is the reality of chickens. They are NOT BFF. Being raised together means nothing to them. Letting out for a couple of hours each day cannot compensate for too small of a coop. Humans have kept them as livestock, and for a healthy happy flock, one has to follow animal husbandry, which is different than keeping pets.

I am not sure where you are in the world, but mine in western SD go to the roost by 4:15 and don't come off before 7:15 during the dark days of winter. That is a long time to be in a overcrowded area.

This many birds are going to have a huge feed bill, and a huge manure pile. They are going to take a lot of time for the chores. They are going to be producing a huge amount of eggs, which can become a problem on itself. Reducing the size of your flock is very important animal husbandry and responsible chicken keeping. Selling the birds will pay for a lot of feed, another good lesson in management.

And then, there is the roosters. As AArt says, roosters are where the romance of chickens meets reality. Cockerels are a crap shoot. If you have kids under the age of 6, I would not recommend keeping a cockerel. Multiple roosters increases the chance of it going horribly wrong. Roosters can become very aggressive, and inexperienced people tend to vastly underestimate the violence of an attack. Kids can take the attack at face level - endangering their eyes and faces. These will be hard, as they are most darling and friendly of your chicks. BUT THEY CHANGE, and because they were friendly tends to work against people, and they become unafraid and aggressive towards people. Roosters have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of people.

And then there is the bantams - some people get bantams to mix well with a full size flock, and some have an ongoing disaster. Overcrowding will really push the disaster.

Not what you wanted to read, I know. And at first, one is so excited, and the extra chicks seem like they were ordained to be yours, but that is not the case. Selling point of lay pullets should be easy and profitable. The roosters will be harder. Start now, looking for solutions to too many roosters. The sooner the better with them. Of course you can process them for eating, but you may not be comfortable with that, but that is a life lesson. If not, do actively start looking how you are going to get them out of your flock.

As I stated before, you can cheat in the summer, but come fall, you have to measure your coop, count heads and make the number of birds fit the coop you have at that time. More birds than that is disaster waiting to happen, often times a bloody, ugly disaster is my experienced realistic view.

Remember, and remind your kids, you have years to enjoy this hobby. There are many different aspects of this hobby, but more is not better.

Dear me, I hope I do not sound too rough, I know you want to do what is right, but I know you want to keep them all right now, and it really won't work. Perhaps I have misconstrued your set up, and you have options I did not pick up on, but in your current set up this will really not work.
Mrs K