Need some ideas please.

[Eckrotes_Hens]

Hi all! I need some tips on integrating 3 young pullets (5 weeks old) into my existing flock (13 weeks). My existing flock consists of 1 hen and possibly 4 roosters...accidentally. I plan to re-home 3 of the roos once I know for sure if they are rosters. I currently have the 5 week old pullets in a large dog crate inside the run with the older birds during the day. They all go in the coop at bedtime with no incidents. I've been doing this for about a week and the 13 week old birds still peck at the babies if they happen to get to together. Should i just let them all be together and let them "sort it out"? Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[Saveria]

They will have to sort it out to some degree. You should never see blood, or excessive chasing. It is good to have tunnels where the younger ones can get away, made from plywood or something similar. It is also good to have lots of feeding stations so they can really spread out.

How big is your coop and run? Do they free range? Space helps immensely here.

 

[NatJ]

Hi all! I need some tips on integrating 3 young pullets (5 weeks old) into my existing flock (13 weeks). My existing flock consists of 1 hen and possibly 4 roosters...accidentally. I plan to re-home 3 of the roos once I know for sure if they are rosters. I currently have the 5 week old pullets in a large dog crate inside the run with the older birds during the day. They all go in the coop at bedtime with no incidents. I've been doing this for about a week and the 13 week old birds still peck at the babies if they happen to get to together. Should i just let them all be together and let them "sort it out"? Any ideas are appreciated.

You can post photos to get opinions on those males (since they are less than one year old, they are technically cockerels, not roosters yet.) Rehoming them could make it easier to integrate the younger chicks, because there will be fewer big birds.

I would not just put them all together to "sort it out" at present. In a very large space, the "sorting out" would just mean that the young ones would stay away from the big ones (that works well enough). But in a smaller space (like most coops and most runs), the younger ones would either stay away by hiding in corners or sitting on roosts (and going hungry & thirsty), or the young ones would get injured or killed because they couldn't get away.

Depending on what sizes the chicks are, you might be able to set up openings that only little chicks can go through. That would let the little ones visit the big ones when they feel safe enough, and run away when they are pecked. This article has a good example of that strategy:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/

If they are too close in size for that, you can set up the coop & run with lots of clutter (so chickens can get out of sight of each other), and put out multiple feed and water stations (so the big ones cannot guard ALL of them at once.) Then pen up the big chickens, and turn the littles loose to explore the area. After a few hours or a day or so, the littles ones should be fairly comfortable and know where the food & water & hiding spots are, and you can let the big ones back in. Then watch how it goes. If the little ones eat and drink, and dart around to the other side of various objects to get out of sight, they will probably be OK. If the big ones corner the little ones or deliberately chase them, you might have to keep them separate (but able to see each other) for a while longer.

Removing all the extra males can make a big difference. With fewer big chicks, the little ones will have more places to be without getting pecked or chased. And with fewer big chicks, it is easier to pen them up for a while to let the little ones get comfortable in the space you want them to share. And by removing a bunch of big chicks, you also disrupt their pecking order, so they will partly pay attention to re-making it instead of focusing as strongly on the younger chicks you are trying to integrate.

Chickens are all individuals, so you might find that it is much easier or much harder than I predicted. What I said is based on what "most" chicks will do in those situations. There are always a few exceptions to keep us people on our toes