Not sure how to integrate chicks

[HennyPenny44]

I’ve been reading the advice on here and it appears that the consensus is that if a mama is raising her chicks, you should integrate her and the chicks with the rest of the flock as soon as possible. This will avoid pecking order drama later on apparently. Well, my chicks are 1 1/2 weeks old but not sure how or if I even should.

I have a coop/run combo with a coop elevated about 2 1/2 feet off the ground and a 6x12 attached run fully enclosed in hardware cloth. Then I have an additional 12x21 of run enclosed in woven wire with 2x4 inch openings and some gaps underneath. The chickens have access to it all day. However, the chicks could easily escape the woven wire fencing which I don’t want and I don’t think they could get up the ramp to the coop yet. The XL dog crate they sleep in with mama inside their 5x10 chicken tractor doesn’t fit comfortably in the coop/run combo though it’s doable. I cannot put that dog crate inside the woven wire fence due to predators possibly getting them.

But...I see mama getting so excited when I bring out chicken scratch to her flock mates but her and the babies can’t have it. She’s no longer in her broody trance and acts like she wants out of that tractor. Yesterday, she parked herself with her babies facing the chicken run and they were all watching her flock mates. I feel like she really wants to go back to her friends. I have 3 in the coop/run and mama has 8 babies with her in the tractor. I do think it might get a bit overcrowded if I keep babies in there with her until they’re full sized. Perhaps I should enclose the woven wire run in hardware cloth so I could integrate them all soon? I have a bossy Barred Rock who goes out of her way to be controlling. I’m afraid she might make the chicks miserable even though mama is top hen. She has 8 babies to watch out for after all. What do you think I should do?

Coop/run combo with extra run space

Chicken tractor near coop/run

Mama and babies watching flock

Flock hanging out.

 

[mcdze]

what i would do is block the bottom of the 'woven' wire with something like cardboard a foot or so high and do it really well so they cant possibly get out and turn them in supervised and see what happens, and do it before you let the other flock in so they get their bearings first .. i'd probably watch them and then round them up back to the tractor after awhile and do that a few days if theres no problems .. they'll grow up fast so its probably not worth it to buy a roll of hardware cloth just for that ...

 

[HennyPenny44]

what i would do is block the bottom of the 'woven' wire with something like cardboard a foot or so high and do it really well so they cant possibly get out and turn them in supervised and see what happens, and do it before you let the other flock in so they get their bearings first .. i'd probably watch them and then round them up back to the tractor after awhile and do that a few days if theres no problems .. they'll grow up fast so its probably not worth it to buy a roll of hardware cloth just for that ...

That’s a great idea! I have lots of cardboard piled up. This will be my afternoon project today. You’re right, chicks grow up so fast and they’ll be perching up high before I know it.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I free range my flock but incubated chicks are kept in the brooder until 4wks and then moved to a coop & run setup until 4mos.
Chicks hatched by a hen are moved from the free range coop after hatching and placed in the coop & run together for 6 wks. Then the hen is removed and chicks remain until 4 months.
Hens can become aggressive with their young after 6 wks. I keep them in there until 4 mos or until the pullets are 2/3s the size of the adults before adding them to the free range flock (those that aren't butchered).
The coop & run are open to the flock. I will pour some scratch grain along the fence so that both groups feed together and are used to hearing and seeing each other. There is always a little squabbling during integration but it usually sounds worse than it is and the more exposure they have prior to will make it short lived. The larger body size also helps the pullets to be able to defend themselves, escape, or take the abuse.

 

[HennyPenny44]

I free range my flock but incubated chicks are kept in the brooder until 4wks and then moved to a coop & run setup until 4mos.
Chicks hatched by a hen are moved from the free range coop after hatching and placed in the coop & run together for 6 wks. Then the hen is removed and chicks remain until 4 months.
Hens can become aggressive with their young after 6 wks. I keep them in there until 4 mos or until the pullets are 2/3s the size of the adults before adding them to the free range flock (those that aren't butchered).
The coop & run are open to the flock. I will pour some scratch grain along the fence so that both groups feed together and are used to hearing and seeing each other. There is always a little squabbling during integration but it usually sounds worse than it is and the more exposure they have prior to will make it short lived. The larger body size also helps the pullets to be able to defend themselves, escape, or take the abuse.

I‘m unable to free range but as I understand it, you keep broody mama and hens together, separated from the flock until 6 weeks, move mama out then and leave chicks separate from all adults including mama until 4 months. Shouldn’t they be able to defend themselves once they’re 2/3 the size of the adults, even without mama’s help? My broody mama is a Black Australorp and has never been aggressive with her flock mates even though she’s at the top of the pecking order so I can’t imagine her being aggressive with her babies. Nonetheless, I plan to install some escape routes for the little ones that the big hens can’t fit into. This is my first time adding to my flock so forgive my ignorance.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I‘m unable to free range but as I understand it, you keep broody mama and hens together, separated from the flock until 6 weeks, move mama out then and leave chicks separate from all adults including mama until 4 months. Shouldn’t they be able to defend themselves once they’re 2/3 the size of the adults, even without mama’s help? My broody mama is a Black Australorp and has never been aggressive with her flock mates even though she’s at the top of the pecking order so I can’t imagine her being aggressive with her babies. Nonetheless, I plan to install some escape routes for the little ones that the big hens can’t fit into. This is my first time adding to my flock so forgive my ignorance.

Yes once they reach 2/3s the size they are good on their own. In my experience, the mammas lose interest in their chicks by 6 wks and start to "drive them away" to be on their own. We have had some aggression shown towards them from the mother (nothing to cause injury) around that time so we just made it our standard time for separation.
We raise our birds for meat and eggs so we begin butchering at 4mos and no later than 6mos. I raise brahmas which are slow to mature (not reaching full size for 3 yrs) but very few of my birds ever reach beyond a year before they are cycled through. Ones that have reached full maturity can be 7-8lbs (live wt) and the rooster can weigh over 10lbs going into the freezer (plucked and dressed). Such large birds can cause damage very easily to small young birds but brahmas are generally good tempered and major squabbling is very rare but the youngsters need to be able to escape just in case.

No forgiveness needed. Im sure it will go fine. Please remember that all advice given on here, despite usually being pretty good, should be taken with a grain of salt. Your situation will be different and specific to you so what works for you may not necessarily be what is suggested by "standards" or "rules of thumb."
Good luck!

 

[HennyPenny44]

Yes once they reach 2/3s the size they are good on their own. In my experience, the mammas lose interest in their chicks by 6 wks and start to "drive them away" to be on their own. We have had some aggression shown towards them from the mother (nothing to cause injury) around that time so we just made it our standard time for separation.
We raise our birds for meat and eggs so we begin butchering at 4mos and no later than 6mos. I raise brahmas which are slow to mature (not reaching full size for 3 yrs) but very few of my birds ever reach beyond a year before they are cycled through. Ones that have reached full maturity can be 7-8lbs (live wt) and the rooster can weigh over 10lbs going into the freezer (plucked and dressed). Such large birds can cause damage very easily to small young birds but brahmas are generally good tempered and major squabbling is very rare but the youngsters need to be able to escape just in case.

No forgiveness needed. Im sure it will go fine. Please remember that all advice given on here, despite usually being pretty good, should be taken with a grain of salt. Your situation will be different and specific to you so what works for you may not necessarily be what is suggested by "standards" or "rules of thumb."
Good luck!

Ok, thank you. Yes, my situation is a bit different so I guess I’ll just play it by ear and see if integration now is even possible. If not, I’ll leave them in their tractor until they’re bigger.

 

[HennyPenny44]

what i would do is block the bottom of the 'woven' wire with something like cardboard a foot or so high and do it really well so they cant possibly get out and turn them in supervised and see what happens, and do it before you let the other flock in so they get their bearings first .. i'd probably watch them and then round them up back to the tractor after awhile and do that a few days if theres no problems .. they'll grow up fast so its probably not worth it to buy a roll of hardware cloth just for that ...

Well, I turned out my chicks who are almost 3 weeks with the broody inside the chicken run. I locked up my older hens for 15-20 minutes while mama and babies explored. When I unleashed them, my broody defended the babies against my two more gentle hens who were just curious. She pulled out a bunch of feathers. But she failed to defend them against my bossy Barred Rock and I had to physically chase her away because she attempted to peck a chick on two occasions while the broody did nothing. Then trying to keep all 8 chicks with mama proved to be an ordeal because they got separated and were on opposite sides of the fence but couldn’t figure out how to get to each other.

I’m not sure if I should try this again tomorrow or just wait until the chicks are considerably larger. It was kind of exhausting watching over everyone. Truthfully, I’m tired of my bossy Barred Rock and want to get rid of her or make her into chicken stew.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I think an investment in hwc would not be a bad idea, even without chicks, but especially so since you do have them. Welded wire with its 2x4" openings just won't ultimately keep your flock safe from many predators. Rats, mice, snakes, mink if you have them and worst of all, raccoons, can all get to your birds through welded wire. Raccoons can reach in, grab a hen and try, unsuccessfully, to pull it through. The results are deadly and not pretty. Hwc, attached to the welded wire up to a height of 4', goes a long way to keeping your flock secure from the outside, and it will certainly keep your littles in - and safe!

 

[Sally PB]

I think an investment in hwc would not be a bad idea, even without chicks, but especially so since you do have them. Welded wire with its 2x4" openings just won't ultimately keep your flock safe from many predators. Rats, mice, snakes, mink if you have them and worst of all, raccoons, can all get to your birds through welded wire. Raccoons can reach in, grab a hen and try, unsuccessfully, to pull it through. The results are deadly and not pretty. Hwc, attached to the welded wire up to a height of 4', goes a long way to keeping your flock secure from the outside, and it will certainly keep your littles in - and safe!

I have many uses for hardware cloth and other types of fencing in general, so I usually have some on hand. Could you make a partial enclosure in your larger run with some chicken wire or hardware cloth? I'll be doing that when I integrate my brooder chicks in a couple of weeks. It's just going to be a piece of chicken wire with some sturdy sticks pushed through it to hold it vertical. I can staple one end of it to part of the coop and zip ties the other to the main fence.

Chicken wire is a lot cheaper because it's flimsy. The openings are larger too, so maybe if you did two layers of it, with some offset so the openings are smaller? Just an idea.