Introducing chick and mum to flock

[Puckaster]

Ok. From tomorrow I'll leave them to it. I'm nervous because I rescued and nursed back to heath one of the younger chicks that one of the hens almost killed rarly on. Also the breeder told me to wait to 18months but that seems too long to me and might just make it harder when mum isn't around to guard. The coop is plenty big enough. It's one of these
https://www.greenfrogdesigns.co.uk/chicken-loft-small/

 

[Puckaster]

Stop interfering in the intragration process. Don't remove them anymore.

Yep, see how it works out..as long as there is no blood let them find their way.
Every time you interfere with integration it just kind of starts over.
But your coops are all very small, so that can make it harder for the babies to get in there. Is the main coop even big enough for the total number of birds?
Maybe put the chicks small coop into the big run?

Ok. From tomorrow I'll leave them to it. I'm nervous because I rescued and nursed back to heath one of the younger chicks that one of the hens almost killed rarly on. Also the breeder told me to wait to 18months but that seems too long to me and might just make it harder when mum isn't around to guard. The coop is plenty big enough. It's one of these
https://www.greenfrogdesigns.co.uk/chicken-loft-small/

 

[aart]

might just make it harder when mum isn't around to guard. The coop is plenty big enough. It's one of these

Mum is done 'guarding' the chicks, she's trying to wean them.

That coop is big enough for one bird, maybe two or three 'very best friends' birds.
"91 (w) x 77(h) x 85 (d) cm (excluding nest boxes)"
It's way too small for integrating more into it...
....it's fine if you want to try it, but be ready for trouble.

 

[Puckaster]

Mum is done 'guarding' the chicks, she's trying to wean them.

That coop is big enough for one bird, maybe two or three 'very best friends' birds.
"91 (w) x 77(h) x 85 (d) cm (excluding nest boxes)"
It's way too small for integrating more into it...
....it's fine if you want to try it, but be ready for trouble.

Oh. Ok. Thanks. I'll look into that. Think I actually have the slightly bigger one
https://www.greenfrogdesigns.co.uk/chicken-loft-medium/
It's Internal Dimensions: 91 (w) x 77(h) x 115 (d) cm without nest boxes.

Its is meant for at least 10 large fowl. It can easily have 3 to 4 chickens on each of its 3 perches and there's 4 next boxes.

 

[aart]

Oh. Ok. Thanks. I'll look into that. Think I actually have the slightly bigger one
https://www.greenfrogdesigns.co.uk/chicken-loft-medium/
It's Internal Dimensions: 91 (w) x 77(h) x 115 (d) cm without nest boxes.

Its is meant for at least 10 large fowl. It can easily have 3 to 4 chickens on each of its 3 perches and there's 4 next boxes.

Get your tape measure out and go check internal dimensions, and length of roosts.
Curious too how big the floor of nest is.

The amount of birds that can live in most 'pre-fab' coops is grossly overestimated by the manufacturer.

 

[Puckaster]

Get your tape measure out and go check internal dimensions, and length of roosts.
Curious too how big the floor of nest is.

The amount of birds that can live in most 'pre-fab' coops is grossly overestimated by the manufacturer.

Alright I shall do in the morning. To me it's seems big enough. The 3 of them in there before didn't even take up 1 of the 3 perches. I bought it second-hand so I'm not actually sure which one it is. Thanks for your help In this regards, this forum is so helpful for a newbie trying to find his/her way

 

[aart]

It may work out fine...just be ready to be flexible.
You've got two integrations going on:
Mama back with the other adult hen(1 or 2?)
And the chicks being weaned and needing to fit in somehow and learn where to sleep.
Weaning can be brutal.

 

[Puckaster]

Get your tape measure out and go check internal dimensions, and length of roosts.
Curious too how big the floor of nest is.

The amount of birds that can live in most 'pre-fab' coops is grossly overestimated by the manufacturer.

It's 1200mm x 900mm internally excluding nestboxes. 3 perches 800mm long

 

[aart]

Curious too how big the floor of nest is.

They look small too...do your birds lay in them?

 

[Shadrach]

The mother hen knows the best integration strategy. Sometimes here the mother will just march the chicks back to the flock coop at three or four days old. Sometimes the chicks are hatched in the flock coop and this saves a lot of integration problems later.
I’ve had hens wait until a few days before they abandon the chicks before they take the now pullets and cockerels back to the flock coop.
I’ve had so few problems with the hen doing the introductions and integration.
There is one problem to be aware of. My coops are off the ground on legs. While mum knows how to climb the ramp, chicks often have problems working this out. They see mum go up the ramp and when mum starts calling the chicks to join her the chicks tend to go closest to the mum’s voice which is of course under the coop. Mum comes back down and tries again. If the mother can’t get the chicks to follow her up the ramp then, depending on the mum, she may just leave them; this can be a problem. I put the chicks in the coop with mum in this case. Watch out if you do this because the chicks give a distress call and mum comes out of the coop in full battle order!
Sometimes the chicks don’t go in and mum comes back out and sits under the coop with the chicks under her wing. She will stay there all night if necessary.
I put them all in the coop at this point.
You may have to do this for a couple of days. Eventually the chicks work out where home and mum is.
Some of the things that influence when and how the mum integrates the chicks are; where she (mum) is in the hierarchy, (more senior hens have fewer problems), whether the group rooster is the chicks father, the available space in the coop for the mum to protect her chicks from other hens usually.
The quicker the chicks integrate the more they will learn and the better protection they will get by being in the flock.
A mum out on her own rearing chicks makes me very nervous.