Introducing hens of different ages.

[Old Ben]

So, with my unique predicament. I have unique questions I can’t find the answers to without asking them myself. I will be getting some chickens from someone who decided he had too many, 8 or so of them will be around 3 months of age. The other 3 or so are just starting to lay or older, I honestly don’t know how old, but they are fully grown. Now this person keeps all the chickens that are young in a different coop that’s right next to the where all the older chickens are. And by right next to it, I mean they are under the same roof and are only separated by chicken wire and some beams. And here’s the problem. I only have one standard looking hen house and run to put them all in. So how much of a problem will I have with putting them together? I’m aware there could be issues but I don’t know what to do about them without having another coop, because that isn’t an option.

 

[Melky]

So, with my unique predicament. I have unique questions I can’t find the answers to without asking them myself. I will be getting some chickens from someone who decided he had too many, 8 or so of them will be around 3 months of age. The other 3 or so are just starting to lay or older, I honestly don’t know how old, but they are fully grown. Now this person keeps all the chickens that are young in a different coop that’s right next to the where all the older chickens are. And by right next to it, I mean they are under the same roof and are only separated by chicken wire and some beams. And here’s the problem. I only have one standard looking hen house and run to put them all in. So how much of a problem will I have with putting them together? I’m aware there could be issues but I don’t know what to do about them without having another coop, because that isn’t an option.

Generally speaking when adding to an existing flock of outside source a 30 day Quarantine is recommended to rule out health problems. If get your flock at same time from same person with no pre-existing flock then the only real risk here may be pecking order. Typically individuals wait till about same age when raising younger chickens to integrate and recommend slow integration to make sure the older chickens will adopt them into the flock without incident or harm. Sometimes they are crated separately within a run or a hardware cloth divider added so they are near the others before integration to allow for acceptance before full integration. Helps to identify problems early on. Check out this article. If can’t do best do next best thing. Make sure you have enough space for the birds so you can avoid early problems. It is recommended about 3-4 sq ft per bird in house and 5-10 sq ft in run. More if want expansion room. 4 sq ft for coop and 10 sq ft for run per bird should feel ok, otherwise may feel crowded. Also make sure plenty of roosting space. I have two bars in house and one long bar that all can fit on in run even if want to avoid each other a little. You can also put bars at two levels for older and younger depending on space you have. Mine are all the same age. Hope this helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/adding-to-your-flock.47756/

 

[Old Ben]

Generally speaking when adding to an existing flock of outside source a 30 day Quarantine is recommended to rule out health problems. If get your flock at same time from same person with no pre-existing flock then the only real risk here may be pecking order. Typically individuals wait till about same age when raising younger chickens to integrate and recommend slow integration to make sure the older chickens will adopt them into the flock without incident or harm. Sometimes they are crated separately within a run or a hardware cloth divider added so they are near the others before integration to allow for acceptance before full integration. Helps to identify problems early on. Check out this article. If can’t do best do next best thing. Make sure you have enough space for the birds so you can avoid early problems. It is recommended about 3-4 sq ft per bird in house and 5-10 sq ft in run. More if want expansion room. 4 sq ft for coop and 10 sq ft for run per bird should feel ok, otherwise may feel crowded. Also make sure plenty of roosting space. I have two bars in house and one long bar that all can fit on in run even if want to avoid each other a little. You can also put bars at two levels for older and younger depending on space you have. Mine are all the same age. Hope this helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/adding-to-your-flock.47756/

Thank you for the reply! I’ll take a look at the article.

 

[Old Ben]

Generally speaking when adding to an existing flock of outside source a 30 day Quarantine is recommended to rule out health problems. If get your flock at same time from same person with no pre-existing flock then the only real risk here may be pecking order. Typically individuals wait till about same age when raising younger chickens to integrate and recommend slow integration to make sure the older chickens will adopt them into the flock without incident or harm. Sometimes they are crated separately within a run or a hardware cloth divider added so they are near the others before integration to allow for acceptance before full integration. Helps to identify problems early on. Check out this article. If can’t do best do next best thing. Make sure you have enough space for the birds so you can avoid early problems. It is recommended about 3-4 sq ft per bird in house and 5-10 sq ft in run. More if want expansion room. 4 sq ft for coop and 10 sq ft for run per bird should feel ok, otherwise may feel crowded. Also make sure plenty of roosting space. I have two bars in house and one long bar that all can fit on in run even if want to avoid each other a little. You can also put bars at two levels for older and younger depending on space you have. Mine are all the same age. Hope this helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/adding-to-your-flock.47756/

In my instants, would it be unwise to lock all of the chickens up in the hen house for so long as the way of showing them where to roost? Or should I do that after I’ve figured out how the pecking order will go? I’m guessing the second option.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC @Old Ben !
Do you have chickens already....or will this be your first flock?
I'm going to assume these are your first birds.
How big is your coop...and can you divide it??
Dimensions and pics would help.

Since they are all going to be in a brand new environment,
and they have been living in adjacent enclosures,
it means quarantine is unnecessary,
and you may not have any integration problems.


Here's some tips on....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

 

[Old Ben]

Welcome to BYC @Old Ben !
Do you have chickens already....or will this be your first flock?
I'm going to assume these are your first birds.
How big is your coop...and can you divide it??
Dimensions and pics would help.

Since they are all going to be in a brand new environment,
and they have been living in adjacent enclosures,
it means quarantine is unnecessary,
and you may not have any integration problems.


Here's some tips on....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

Yes, this would be my first flock. I can’t get to/see the coop right now(it’s night here.) but I can explain how the run is configured. It’s in two sections, the smaller section is the first one that the chickens would be in if they came out of the hen house, the larger section is divided by a wall with a door frame but no door. It’s worth noting that if I kept the chickens divided, some of them wouldn’t have protection against the weather(because they wouldn’t be able to get into the hen house.) and even though I’m going to do my best to make the run safe, ultimately the hen house is safer to be in at night vs the run. Also, would it significantly help/hurt the situation if I got a rooster that was already familiar with some of the flock? I didn’t mention this before because I’m still not sure if I will get one or not.

 

[lutherpug]

As aart mentioned, it will likely help that this coop is neutral territory for all of the chickens. They will likely still have to sort things out but it may take less time. Only other advice I would give you is when you're thinking about how to give them additional space, think vertical. When I last integrated young birds into an older flock I built some small tables and elevated perches out of scrap wood we had laying around and it helped a lot. Gave them room to get out of each others way. Good luck with your flock!

 

[Old Ben]

As aart mentioned, it will likely help that this coop is neutral territory for all of the chickens. They will likely still have to sort things out but it may take less time. Only other advice I would give you is when you're thinking about how to give them additional space, think vertical. When I last integrated young birds into an older flock I built some small tables and elevated perches out of scrap wood we had laying around and it helped a lot. Gave them room to get out of each others way. Good luck with your flock!

Thanks for the advice! I’ve done a lot of research on these things, but I’ve never Done these things. So it’s very helpful to have a place where I can ask my own questions.

 

[aart]

Also, would it significantly help/hurt the situation if I got a rooster that was already familiar with some of the flock?

Ehhhh...maybe....it could also just complicate the situation, especially if the cock/erel is younger than a year old...and you are unfamiliar with handling one that may be aggressive.
I'll wait to see size and pics of setup.

Also......
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[Old Ben]

Ehhhh...maybe....it could also just complicate the situation, especially if the cock/erel is younger than a year old...and you are unfamiliar with handling one that may be aggressive.
I'll wait to see size and pics of setup.

Also......
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!
View attachment 1544179

North Carolina. Not too cold, not too hot. 4 seasons.