Introducing new chicks into your flock

[m0mmema]

Hi,
What’s the best way to introduce the chicks into your flock.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The BEST is to wait till they are nearly the same size as your flock.
Lots of space and merging like numbers and like sizes eliminates most problems.
An established flock views interlopers as a threat to the health of the flock and will attack new birds in an attempt to drive them off. This can get ugly if bringing in chicks.
If confined to pens and tight quarters, it is much worse.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Hi,
What’s the best way to introduce the chicks into your flock.

We have a partition where newbies are introduced with a safe view greeting with the older population. They are allowed to get up close and face to face for a couple weeks or longer to let them get use to each others company before opening the wire wall and releasing them into the population.
BUT we never introduce chicks. We provide separate quarters for newbies for the first 5 or 6 months. Like @ChickenCanoe said "it can get ugly".. that is an understatement.. way ugly.. Chickens can be viscous beasts. They will torture your TINY new additions while 86-ing them. Anyone who wishes to start with raising backyard chickens and wants to start off small and add later. You will need to prepare your housing design for adding additional occupants, such as providing enough space to partition or separate housing next to or within your coop or run.
Good luck.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That or building 2 (or more) separate housing options. Preferably far from each other so it can qualify as quarantine quarters.

 

[gator75]

We have a partition where newbies are introduced with a safe view greeting with the older population. They are allowed to get up close and face to face for a couple weeks or longer to let them get use to each others company before opening the wire wall and releasing them into the population.
BUT we never introduce chicks. We provide separate quarters for newbies for the first 5 or 6 months. Like @ChickenCanoe said "it can get ugly".. that is an understatement.. way ugly.. Chickens can be viscous beasts. They will torture your TINY new additions while 86-ing them. Anyone who wishes to start with raising backyard chickens and wants to start off small and add later. You will need to prepare your housing design for adding additional occupants, such as providing enough space to partition or separate housing next to or within your coop or run.
Good luck.

Sorry to read this. I'll be integrating my three chicks at about 7 weeks in a couple weeks. I'm not building another complete coop with nest boxes and run inside my existing coop and run to house 3 birds in one and two in another. The 5 wk olds are in a small temporary coop next to the permanent coop for the next two weeks and I let them free range together already. Mine will sink or swim. I've read my plan works very well often??

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Mine will sink or swim.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Hi,
What’s the best way to introduce the chicks into your flock.

If you feel creative, and wish to partake on a project, this is a simple solution. I have made several of these. We breed 365 days a year lately. These are outdoor brooders. Simplistic and cost effective.
Kiddie pools. This one has a plywood cover but it was the most convenient one to snap a picture off real quick for you. Other ones have 2 Pools. 1 for the floor and one for the cover. These have multi purposes. I use them for Hospitals, Quarantines, brooders for sales of young birds and introductions of new additions to the existing flocks.
If your chicken house has the space for these or something similar a a smaller scale, this would be more piratical. Housing the young birds safely within your existing flock w/o you older birds tormenting and killing off the newbies. The pools squirt clean with a garden hose and are dirt cheap at Dollar General stores. A little wire and your new investment is safe from the Alphas.