Introducing new chickens

[cindagram]

Any way you can section off an area with an opening too small for the big ones to get through? That would allow the youngsters to venture out and retreat when necessary without the big ones following. I'm going through an integration right now - 12 wk olds to my mature flock. Daytime is no problem since I free range, so lots of room. Bedtime is still a little awkward but I placed several sawhorses in the safe run and notice the young ones fly up there for safety. Most of the older girls are too heavy or lazy to follow. However, the young ones still aren't brave enough to roost with the big ones so I'm letting them sleep wherever in the coop. Extra cleanup for me.

Good luck, I know it's nerve wracking to see them being bullied but they should eventually work it out.

They are all about the same size now, they are just so scared. I am hopeful since I built them a roost separate from the others they might feel OK to go up? My coop and run is pretty elaborate so they have plenty of space and places to fly up to you. My husband thinks I’ve gone a little bit chicken crazy

 

[Lorimary]

My run is 10 x 20 and it has a separate feeding station from the bathhouse as well as a little tree branch play area. The younger birds found a way to hide but they were so crammed in a corner and all of the other ones were trapping them in there and would not let them get out. So there was not a way to eat or drink for them.
I did not see blood but feathers were being pulled out. I was just mostly concerned that they would never get to eat or drink. Is this true?

I give my new ones a separate feeding station, and waterer until they get used to each other. Put the second one where the newbies are hiding.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

 

[sheetmetaltom]

i have 3 7-8 week old chicks, raised in the coop with everyone else. everyone else is 18 months to 5 1/2 years old. the chicks had 3 broodys watching out for them. they run interference with my 2 bossy hens. real pains. my ouside run is 50+ feet long but only 15 feet wide. 3 feeding stations and 5 for water. i lean a couple of pallets against the fences and a sheet of plywood. but the best thing i do is toss my old christmas trees in there. all my birds use them to sit on and to hide and to get away from anyone whos bothering them. all there needles are long gone but that doesnt matter. everyone uses them. also a couple of spackle buckets turned upsidedown break sight lines and some like to jump up and sit on them. anything you have laying around will do. potted plants, even those large plastic pots landscapers use. just put some dirt in them and put them in the run. good luck

 

[Pghelp]

Following! Thank you to everyone for these suggestions. I had posted about trying to integrate a rather small but full-grown Auracana with my established flock of 2 Barred Rock and 1 RRR. So far my only solution is a separate coop and run for the Auracana. We do not have a run and that is rather problematic with the invasions we've had from predator cats and raccoons. Maybe we can eventually enclose a yard but we're finding it isn't going to be easy to keep digger and flyer predators (hawk nest nearby too!) out.

 

[Barry42001]

I had to 10 foot by 10 ft by 7 Foot dog kennel runs of chain link fence zip tied together and cut a section of the chain link fencing out so that the older Birds would have an outside run. When I got new chicks and raise them up to the point where they could be outside I closed up the outside run as it were put a roof on it was going to anyway because it got too soupy from the rain. From the protection of that chain-link enclosures that's how they integrated themself in the Flock, of course I blocked off the entrance between the two and then when I was ready to integrate I opened it up. The course as expected they were the bossy hands that had to show who the boss was and Chase around the babies but it wasn't too much longer after that when they were all one sort of happy flock until it came to anything but I have for feeders up there. Of course if you put food and all for Feeders the older birds will spread themselves out amongst all four feeeders I even tried broadcasting food on the ground and the older Birds went for it to eventually everybody got fed LOL

 

[Tlco]

I had a very small coop, only housed 4 hens. One night something got in ate 3 of the 4. So I got new chicks to go with the 1 left. Coop was very small ( a prefab coop from TS) older hen was having non of it. I split the coop with chicken wire so the older hen had access to the roost and a small yard and the babies only had access to part of the yard so they saw each other daily with the fence seperating them for saftey.. Food/water on both sides of fence. My young hen was about 3 months old babies were a week old. By the time the babies were 4 weeks old all got along very well. Might give that a try.

 

[Frizzlychick]

It’s officially been 1 week together and they are basically getting along all the time! They even come out of the coop together now when I open it in the morning so that is super exciting. One big happy flock now, thank you to everyone who offered your advice and suggestions! I’m hoping soon I can remove one of the obstacles and maybe even the extra food/water since it appears they are sharing now

 

[beati]

Great discussion! I have been having the same problem. I added two girls to my yard as my older girl just lost her best buddy a few weeks ago. Fortunately, I have a huge yard and an extra run/coop. During the day, the new girls chase my older girl to other parts of the yard . Eventually they seem to settle down, but it repeats the next day. At night, they go to their own coops. Not an ideal situation, I had hoped they would be friends, but at least the newbies aren't hurting my Sweet Pea. Fingers crossed they will figure out how to cohabitant. Best of luck to you!

 

[Pghelp]

After more than a month, I think we are finally making progress with our girls! The past 2 days they've been free ranging together with only a couple of pecking flurries. Our new Auracana seems to think we are her flock. If the other girls start pecking she either finds a place to hide or hovers behind us. But the good news is she voluntarily eased up beside the RIR and she is watching all of them. She now let's us pick her up so she is taming a bit too. And she is learning to scratch!! I hadn't realized that she had never been in an open yard so scratching for bugs and grubs was totally new for her. The last suggestions were for possibly rehoming her but she's had a tough life and she's going to make it now! On our way to an integrated flock!