Introducing chicks

[gottsegnet]

I've read a few posts on introducing chicks, but not any with quite our situation. Our existing flock consists of only 4 hens. We are adding in 23 chicks. They are about a month old, fully feathered and have been enjoying their time in the yard. Most of what I've read said to save introductions until they are similar sizes, but our new flock is so much larger than the old one, I'm worried about the four if I do that!

Their first day out, they attracted the attention of the hens which all came over to peek at them through the chicken wire. I was worried because they can jump the wire, but usually don't bother. They all walked around the pen once and went on about their normal routine. They've never come back to visit since.

Today the chicks escaped their pen but since they stayed up in the bushes by the house I just let them. I figured they could get further into the dense shrubbery than the hens, but again the hens never came to investigate.

Is it safe to just keep doing this and let them discover each other on their own?

 

[pdsavage]

I would wait till they where at least 4 months old,I mean 1 month old trying to protect itself from full grown hens is no match.
They could corner/trap them and kill them....Better safe then sorry....

 

[sherrydeanne]

I would feel much safer at 6 weeks, but as long as they're supervised and have someplace to escape to, it probably couldn't hurt. I wouldn't leave them alone though for a few more weeks. I don't think you need to wait until they're full grown to integrate, but I think a few more weeks is necessary.

 

[gottsegnet]

Thanks! We're keeping them up by the house so they are supervised right now and hopefully by Monday they'll have a tractor anyway. I was just worried about waiting until they're too big because then they could cause trouble for the four I already have!

 

[gottsegnet]

Had an accidental introduction today. After the RIR laid her egg, she couldn't find her compadres and wandered up the hill to the house to see what all the peeping was about. She watched for awhile and I threw her some scratch to keep her occupied.

Some chicks came over to investigate and she got her hackles up, ready for a fight, but was immediately overwhelmed. She ran off with a dozen chicks 1/4 of her size chasing after her. It looked so funny, but now I'm wondering if maybe I should introduce the hens one at a time?

 

[FortWorthChicks]

I have 4 hens and I put a mini coop in the run with the hens when they were around 6 weeks old. I used some large window screens as mini run attached to the mini coop inside the big run. The hens pecked the screen a few times and then they went on about their business.

Next I left an opening big enough for the chicks but not the hens and they came out and when they were chased they ran for cover. I removed the screen about 5 days later and they chicks dont attack the big girls but do have respect for them and stay out of their way!

Good luck

 

[gottsegnet]

Well, I introduced them at about 5 1/2 weeks because I needed the pen they were in. That and one of the hens came up to the house to investigate and was overwhelmed by all the pullets. She tried to get aggressive and then was run off. So then I caught another hen and brought her up and it was the same. The dominant hen was a little more determined not to be chased off. She stood her ground, but couldn't seem to decided whom to chase. I didn't try to catch the leghorn. She's sort of low woman on the totem pole and impossible to catch, anyway. I just hoped she'd have the same reaction.

The next day I put them in their pen in the hen house and the hens just sort of congregated on the other side.

Then I propped up the side so the pullets could go in and out but the hens couldn't. Haven't had any problems. The pullets stay clear of the hens for the most part. An occasional bold one will come up when I feed them but then the dominant hen pecks it and it runs back to the others to wait.

When will they begin acting like a flock? Right now it is like we have two flocks that tolerate each other. I let them out in the morning and the hens go off to the shrubs or the woods. The pullets run up the hill to the house or hang around the barn.

I'd like them to move together because the hens spend most of their time where all the ticks are. The pullets spend most of their time pooping on my porch.

 

[bantybev]

I am in the same situation you are with one exception....I have a 2 yr old rooster with the 2 hens. I have 10 7 week olds that need to share the coop and run. You are very lucky to be able to free range yours, as that can make it so much easier. We are extending the run this Saturday and adding branches and other items for the younger ones to hide from the adults, but I am still very apprehensive. I guess some pecking is to be expected. Patience and time seems to be the key from everything I have read (and maybe a little luck).
Good Luck with yours. Hopefully it will all work out sooner rather than later

 

[Neilette]

OK so I'm brand new, but here's my newbie (possibly ill-advised) experience:

I brought home 3 hens and 2 four-week-old chicks. The hens quickly bonded, no arguments. The chicks spent their time in my garage until they were about five weeks old. When I put the chicks out in the coop, I set up a mini-brooder (because I wasn't sure if they would be warm enough): The brooder was a box with an entrance big enough for chicks but small enough to disallow hens, in a position where the hens couldn't easily peak in; including a small roosting pole, chick feeder, and chick waterer. There was no trouble, even when I soon added 2 chicks and then 1 chick. Production was high from the hens, the chicks went about their business and gave the hens space during the day. The chicks even soon joined the big girls in their roost at night. Success.

THEN I sold 2 hens (too noisy!) and, recently, added 5 similarly-aged chicks, as well as a new coop (cuter, but smaller -- currently re-replaced with the original large coop). The established chicks harassed the new chicks and drew blood; and the remaining hen's production cut out from 5 eggs per week to 0! Dear lord, what have I done? Upon the internet's advice I removed the 2 biggest offenders to garage-solitary and would have filled the run with hidey-branches if that hadn't worked -- but it did. I now had 2 separate flocks of chicks, 2 chicks in the garage, and 1 lone hen. There was some chasing but everything quieted down. After a couple of days I re-introduced the 'solitary' chicks during free-range time and everybody was mostly copacetic, except having to go out at night and manually put the 'new' chick flock into the coop to roost. Now the original, large coop is in the run and the birds are beginning to flock up. It's been a couple of weeks. The hen began laying 3 eggs a week.

Lesson? Be careful with the pecking order! I won't be introducing new birds in any big way more than once a year, maybe during egg-laying off-season. And I'm keeping the mini-brooder for next year.