Introduction: New chicks are being picked on. Can they be injured?

[cjpines]

We have separated our three 11 wk old pullets for 2 weeks from the older ones age 8 months with a wire fence so they could see each other.

One older bird flew over and was picking on all three.

Can the older birds injure the younger ones while being introduced?

Also, our poultry man said when we're ready to incorporate all, put the younger ones in the coop after dark. When they all wake up they will be accepted as the group.

What has anyone done that works?

Thank you.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Yes, the older birds can severely injure or even kill younger/ new birds. It is best to wait until the chickens are about the same size before trying to combine them, usually with standards that is going to be close to four months old for the new ones, and have a long period of the two flocks being able to see each other but no touching ... like you are doing through wire seem to work best. If you can, letting them free range together with supervision is a good idea and should help. The sticking them in the coop after dark thing works sometimes in larger flocks with a lot of room, but in smaller ones the new birds are too obvious usually...if you try that be sure to be there in the morning to rescue the new birds if there is trouble. There is a nice article in the Learning Center on integrating flocks you might like to check out, the part about actually combining them is after the quarantine section https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[cjpines]

Yes, the older birds can severely injure or even kill younger/ new birds. It is best to wait until the chickens are about the same size before trying to combine them, usually with standards that is going to be close to four months old for the new ones, and have a long period of the two flocks being able to see each other but no touching ... like you are doing through wire seem to work best. If you can, letting them free range together with supervision is a good idea and should help. The sticking them in the coop after dark thing works sometimes in larger flocks with a lot of room, but in smaller ones the new birds are too obvious usually...if you try that be sure to be there in the morning to rescue the new birds if there is trouble. There is a nice article in the Learning Center on integrating flocks you might like to check out, the part about actually combining them is after the quarantine section https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock