Merging two flocks - looking for tips

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The coop's ladder goes into the chicken run where the feed, water and an additional roost are located. The run opens up to the open pen for free range. The open pen opens up to the backyard for additional free range. We have 2 sex-links, age 10 months. 2 days ago we added 2 RIR, age 6 months. We put the new hens inside the coop at dusk. The next day, the RIR hung out in the coop all day (food and water provided inside for them) while the sex-links free ranged until they went up to the run at dusk to roost. The older hens have been roosting out in the run however last night it got down in the 40's so I'm thinking they must have gone up into the coop with the new hens. As far as I can tell there were no incidents.

The older hens lay up in the nesting boxes which are located on the backside of the coop.( access to the nesting boxes is via the coop.) After I gathered eggs this morning, I heard a commotion up in the coop. One of the older hens was in the coop picking with the new RIR. The new hens were trying to hide in a nesting box together. I coaxed the older hen out of the coop and then out of the run. I closed up the run so that the older hens won't have access to the the coop.

I'm stressed to the max and don't know what to do. I'm concerned about them hurting each other. I understand that there's a pecking order and that the older hens will put a young hen in her place. Do I continue to minimize stress for the new hens during the days? Should we try to continue to handle the new hens so they get used to us or will that be stressful? Should I just let them sort everything out on their own?
 
Well, taking advice from this thread, yesterday we combined/divided our 2 flocks. We have 42 birds from last year and 20 new ones from this spring we needed to combine. First we had to weed out our non layers and that was an adventure. Last night we moved all non layers and roosters to the barn and all layers stayed in the coop. So far so good. Everyone seems to be settling in and no major fights....knock on wood.
 
i had four at the begining they were about three months old and my friend gave me four more and they were only one month old. It turned out that two from my first group wre roosters and that one of the little ones was a rooster as well. I put the little ones in a cage that they could only be seen from one side and i put that in the run with the big ones so they could see each other. then after 20mins i let them all run around together the two roosters were chasing the little ones around and pecking at them so i took them out right away and put them back in there cage. i realized that putting them together that way was not going to work so when all chickens went to bed in there coop i took the four little ones and put them in at night and they all ready knew how to roost so i put them on the roost by the big ones and in the morning i let them all out in the run. The big ones chased the little ones around for a while and they wouldnt let them eat so i gave them a seperate food bowl and they were fine i havent had any problems. but now i dont have the two big roosters cause once we realised that they were roosters we seperated tem and are fatining them up to eat next week. But the little rooster will stay with my hens and they all get along.

so if you put them in at night they should all be fine the next day. good luck!
 
Ha! Not so. My 5 older and 4 newer chickens free range together all day. There is enough space to get away from each other. But, at night, it is a different story. I have to put the 4 young ones in the coop with the adults who peck at them and scare them.I do this when it is dark to minimize the fighting. It soon calms down when the lights go out and I close the doors. Its that time when I put the little ones in that is so stressful to me and them. They have all been sharing the coop for about a week and at first the little ones wanted to be in there until they realized they were going to get beat up. Now they roost on top of the coop and as I said I have to put them inside.
My question is: How long will this last? I guess for as long as it takes. Weeks? Months?
Tonight everyone got confused about where they were supposed to be so that may actually help in the long run. It was like musical chairs.
 
I have my grower pen next to my day ranging birds and when the pullets are about 16 weeks (before they start laying) I just open the door to their pen and let them freely mix with my older birds. After about three days I chase them all out of the grower pen and close the door. At night for about 3 nights they will pile up in front of the door trying to roost in their old pen, and I hand carry them into the main coop and close the door behind them. After about three days of this they are trained to the new coop. Some are not as fast as learners or are more attached to their former home and they may take a couple more nights.

This works well. Also my coop has a place under it where the new birds can hide for the first couple weeks. There is very little fighting doing it this way.

Now with the roosters, I try to put them together as young as I can and I use an older rooster to be the playground monitor. He is the boss and keeps the others from doing too much damage to each other. That said I sometimes have to pull the ones out that get beat up the most. They are kept with younger roosters or hens if I need them for breeding, otherwise these are usually less vigorous birds and culls.
 
I'm glad I found this thread, now I know I'm not the "only one" with this problem. I have two groups of girls, the original is eight girls, six months old, and the younger group is nine girls and one rooster, and they are about four months old. They live in two separate movable pens, more tractors with removable wheels, and I move each once a week or so. The two tractors have been close enough for two months that all the birds see each other day after day.

I started free ranging the older girls about a month and a half ago. An hour a day at first, not knowing what to expect, then a few more hours a day, until a few weeks ago when I go out and open their door and let them out for the day from about 8:00 or 9:00 AM until dusk. A few of these girls have started laying, but the surprising part is that they go back into the coop to lay, so far, no hidden surprises out in the yard, but only one or two eggs a day from the eight of them. These are very small eggs, and I suspect it is the only the bantam laying every day and one of the RIRs that are laying occasionally, maybe every two days, one egg.

The other group is ten birds, five Leghorns, and four black (beautiful) birds and a black rooster that is almost twice the size of the original eight girls.

I have just started letting this second group out during the day to free range, but the two groups are NOT 'playing well' together. The rooster is trying to 'nail' the older birds to the point that they run when the see him coming. Now don't take me wrong, it's not like they don't have a goodly space to free range, my back yard is small compared to our neighbors here in the valley, about 2 acres, well fenced in, and not many other animals that I have seen to hunt my birds.

The first day I let the second group out I watched as the rooster started chasing the original girls, and even going into their coop yard. The only reason he came out was because he saw another bird outside the fence and went after her. I chased him with my "herding sticks" back into his own yard and tried again the next day, same thing. Occasionally the two groups can use this 'small' acreage to free range, and now I see that the two groups are about as far away from each other that they almost don't see each other.

I know everything takes time, time to adjust, time to learn, and time to heal wounds, but this has been going on now for almost two weeks. Does anyone really know how long this will be going on, or do I have to just sit by and let them all "work it out?"

And by the way, although the temps here (very near Kingman Arizona, high desert of North West Arizona) were in the 100 to 110 range this summer (thank all that is Holy that the temps are dropping finally) I never saw much stress from the heat. I am going to start early again next year with my next batch of chickens so that the girls will be used to the heat from the beginning rather than stress over what the heat may be doing to the girls.
 
Phottoman said:
I'm glad I found this thread, now I know I'm not the "only one" with this problem.  I have two groups of girls, the original is eight girls, six months old, and the younger group is nine girls and one rooster, and they are about four months old.  They live in two separate movable pens, more tractors with removable wheels, and I move each once a week or so.  The two tractors have been close enough for two months that all the birds see each other day after day.

I started free ranging the older girls about a month and a half ago.  An hour a day at first, not knowing what to expect, then a few more hours a day, until a few weeks ago when I go out and open their door and let them out for the day from about 8:00 or 9:00 AM until dusk.  A few of these girls have started laying, but the surprising part is that they go back into the coop to lay, so far, no hidden surprises out in the yard, but only one or two eggs a day from the eight of them.  These are very small eggs, and I suspect it is the only the bantam laying every day and one of the RIRs that are laying occasionally, maybe every two days, one egg.

The other group is ten birds, five Leghorns, and four black (beautiful) birds and a black rooster that is almost twice the size of the original eight girls.

I have just started letting this second group out during the day to free range, but the two groups are NOT 'playing well' together.  The rooster is trying to 'nail' the older birds to the point that they run when the see him coming.  Now don't take me wrong, it's not like they don't have a goodly space to free range, my back yard is small compared to our neighbors here in the valley, about 2 acres, well fenced in, and not many other animals that I have seen to hunt my birds.

The first day I let the second group out I watched as the rooster started chasing the original girls, and even going into their coop yard.  The only reason he came out was because he saw another bird outside the fence and went after her.  I chased him with my "herding sticks" back into his own yard and tried again the next day, same thing.  Occasionally the two groups can use this 'small' acreage to free range, and now I see that the two groups are about as far away from each other that they almost don't see each other.

I know everything takes time, time to adjust, time to learn, and time to heal wounds, but this has been going on now for almost two weeks.  Does anyone really know how long this will be going on, or do I have to just sit by and let them all "work it out?"

And by the way, although the temps here (very near Kingman Arizona, high desert of North West Arizona) were in the 100 to 110 range this summer (thank all that is Holy that the temps are dropping finally) I never saw much stress from the heat.  I am going to start early again next year with my next batch of chickens so that the girls will be used to the heat from the beginning rather than stress over what the heat may be doing to the girls.  

Yes it is finally cooling down.. Our two flocks have not merged... I hope soon
We still do not know if we have a roo... However I do believe that one of our
Silkies is a roo...if so he will be quiet.. Yeah!!!
The 3 bantams.. Millie Fleur Clair,golden sebright Chole & EE felisha are all
Girls, 11 weeks old... We got extras thinking we had 3 Roos ... Only time
will tell on both the roo and merge. No over agressive chickens yet...
Chickens are so sensitive...

Thank you all for great advice..
Click to expand...
 
i have 2 chcks to introduce but they are tiny barbu d'anvers and my existing hens are ciochins,the rooster cochin attacked the little barbu d'anvers very badly everytime we tried to let them free range together,what can we do to stop my rooster from killing them,i really would love them to frre range together
 

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