Introducing pet chickens to a livestock flock

[MoonHarvester]

Hi all! I have a very specific situation where I unexpectedly got baby chicks and will have to return them to the ranch temporarily. I have been raising my 3 chicks as pets and they are 5 weeks old now. They will be too big for my brooder inside my house and my backyard is not coyote-proof enough for them. I plan to build a taller fence, add electric, build a sturdy coop, etc. the works. But it will take time, maybe a few months.

The friend who gave them to us is willing to house them again while I better prepare our yard, but reading last week's discussion about introducing chicks to the flock raised some concerns. I won't be able to see my chickens every day at the ranch and the flock there are for eggs and meat, they don't get pet or social time with their owners. She has a small flock at least 5, maybe more, but she isn't even there every day herself! Someone else comes to care for them. So, as a doting new chicken mom I'm so worried!

What can I do to make this temporary situation as safe and comfortable as possible? I'm reading the threads and trying to get information from them but the main problem is I wont be there with my chickens. What if there is trouble integrating them? Would their tags make them stick out with the flock? What about when I take them back, will my chickens be sad? I think I might stay the weekend I first bring them over it certainly would make me feel better. I can even ask if I can stay for a longer period of time, if so how long?

I apologize if it seems bad on my part to be raising chicks while being unaware of everything that goes into it. As a family we at first decided to not keep them since they were not meant for us in the first place, our fence is in bad shape and the coyote gave some quite the scare. But I fell in love with my little chicks, and want to do everything I can to keep them and keep them safe!

I'd greatly appreciate any advice on the temporary housing situation my chickens will be in! Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

My suggestion is, if you and your friend is willing, let her keep those birds for their flock and get new chicks once you're ready to have them. If they're in her care you really don't have much say in how she socializes them - it's up to her to integrate them with her flock.

Conversely if you're really willing to spend the time there, you could offer to take care of them in her place (since you mentioned she isn't always there) and then that would mean it'd be up to you to socialize them. I wouldn't bother integrating them with hers then... depending on her set up maybe you can section off part of it and house your birds in that section during the duration of their stay.

 

[MoonHarvester]

My suggestion is, if you and your friend is willing, let her keep those birds for their flock and get new chicks once you're ready to have them. If they're in her care you really don't have much say in how she socializes them - it's up to her to integrate them with her flock.

Conversely if you're really willing to spend the time there, you could offer to take care of them in her place (since you mentioned she isn't always there) and then that would mean it'd be up to you to socialize them. I wouldn't bother integrating them with hers then... depending on her set up maybe you can section off part of it and house your birds in that section during the duration of their stay.

Thank you for the advice. I can definitely ask for separate housing. I may consider just speeding up the building process. Really wish I had some woodworking skills!

 

[Altairsky]

Unfortunately chicks at that age need to be socialized to grow as pets or they might just turn into ordinary chickens or even get even more skittish because of the rehoming stress.
I'd either get a temporary prefab coop just to have somewhere to keep them while I work on the permanent coop, or let the friend keep the chicks and start all over again with new chicks after I have everything ready for them.