putting 6 weekers together with 2 weekers

[siouxbee]

I have just about this same age different -- 6 weeks (2 each of speckled sussex, gold laced wyandotte, silkie) , 3 weeks (2 auracanas), and 2 weeks (4 blue laced wyandottes).

The funny thing is, when we brought home the second batch (2 auracanas), they mixed no prob during the day outside. Not one peck. I kept them separate at night more for the heat issue than anythign else, tho I was happy to sleep knowing they were safe, having read horror stories about introducing chicks.

Then I brought home the other four one week later. After mixing for a week no problem, suddenly some of the bigger girls took exception to this evening of the odds (now six "babies" versus six "ladies"). And within one minute of putting them all together outside, after having spent a night in a brooder that is divide with hard ware cloth so they can see each other, feathers were flying. Literally. Bandit, the smaller of the two speckled sussex chicks we have was going after the little ones with some serious bloodlust. After several pecks that were followed by her swallowing a mouthful of feathers, I pulled the babies. However, she now started in after the auracanas! So I pulled them too.

Having read the previous post, I'm wondering if I should have just let them at it but the babies were still probably less than one week old at that point.

When does the "real" pecking start? 4hmom, you said something about do it now before the real nasty stuff starts? When does that start? I'll have to figure out something that the bigger girls can't get to, maybe a crate, that the lil ones can escape into. Will that work?

Thanks,
Sioux

 

[dreamgirl]

siouxbee, I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, but a similar question. I am picking up a 12-week old roo today to put with my 11 10-week old girls. My brooder is too small to divide and I'm afraid he'll get cold if I put him in his own wire cage (the brooder is outdies in a fenced in area). Any thoughts on how best to introduce them? He curently lives in a flock with the same age difference, but there are 5 12-weekers and 10 10-weekers and they all get along fine (they were introduced at 7 weeks).

Thanks!
Morgen

 

[4H kids and mom]

The pecking gets a little more 'real' around 8-10 weeks old. If you wait to introduce new chicks until this point, then you will have some serious issues (IMO). The only reason in my eyes, that I didnt have these problems, even though my oldest chicks were MUCH older, was because I gave the little ones a place to escape to if they needed it. For the first week, they used it regularily. If they were being chased or picked on, they could retreat to their 'safety zone' until the "chaser" left. After about a week, they finally all mingled pretty well together (both day and night) and I took the 'safety zone' out of the coop. Its been almost 2 weeks since, and though there may be a few tiffs here and there, there's nothing major, and no one ever got hurt.

The hardest part to deal with when doing this is the screaming the little ones will do. You will think they are being killed or seriously hurt, when it is more that their 'pride' is being hurt. I have found that the more we (humans) interfere in them working out their social order, the longer it takes and the harder it is for the to mingle nicely. I have found that if you let them work it out on their own, the minor scuffs last no more than a few days to a week at most. If you interfere or remove the little ones after a scuff, the minor tiffs can get more serious (because your older birds DO feel some jealousy, and the more you 'baby' the babies, the worse the older birds feel and they WILL take it out on the chicks the next chance they get.) and take MUCH longer to work everything out (sometimes a month or more).

I've heard that some people have NEVER been able to mix their flocks because they either waited too long, or didnt let them work it out in the first place. In my honest opinion, I dont think you shuold wait until they are all "about the same size" because by the time they are all "about the same size" the little pecking tiffs can do considerably more damage. (IE...bigger beaks, mean bigger owies. Plus, big roos have the addition of spurs that they can cut a little one up real good with.) I think this is where the "horror stories" of mixing chicks come from. Yes, if you wait until they are grown or nearly grown, the fights can be bloody and even fatal. It is, however, extremely rare that a 6 week old chick could seriously harm a 3 week old chick. They may inflict mere scratches, but I'd take the scratches over deep cut wounds or death any day.

So, when I say its better to do it now, this is what I mean. Now they are all still young enough to learn to get along. Like an old dog, older chickens are often set in their ways and dont like intruders in their flock. I have people stop by daily to comment on the "Dr Doolittle" appearance of my yard, where I have mixed age chicks and chickens roaming with the goats, cats, and young ducks. I have photos of young chicks sitting on and sun bathing on my goats, the little ducks trying to "roost" with the chickens, and the cat surrounded by chicks. The only way I was able to accomplish this was to "just do it" and let nature have a hand in it more than I did. Yes, I had to turn my back on the painful sounding cries of the young ones at first, but my end result is a happy co-exsisting one, where ALL my aniamls mingle and are free to roam the yard. No one has to be "penned for safety" because now my roos have accepted the young chicks as part of the flock and they protect them with their lives. ChickenDuck even thinks of the baby ducks as 'his flock' and will herd them into the coop if he sences danger! (BTW, now THAT is a cute sight!)

My best advice to the both of you, as hard as it is, is to grit your teeth, sit on your hands, and do it while they are still young enough to not do so much damage to each other.

 

[New chicken family]

Idid it!
Yesterday, I put the 3 weekers with the 6 weekers. the Babies have their hiding box. They are doing fine!!!!
The biggest of the 6 weekers is the head bird. She lets them know if they took her treat... But they made it through the night so I am hopeful!!!
Thanks!!!!

 

[jamiebartlett]

OOOO im so envious!! I loook outside and think can I do it? Can I do it!! The oldest are 8 weeks old, youngest 2-3 weeks old. The co-op says 4 but I dont beleive them these guys are 1/2 fuzz 1/2 feathers. I thinka fter I get some work stuff done, im going to devise an escape routine.. I can do I can do it.. I can do it...

 

[4H kids and mom]

new chicken family.... I am so happy for you! I'm glad you did it now. You will be glad too as it will make things all go so much smoother.

jamiebartlett... Yes, you CAN do it! But its "doing it" thats the hardest part. You will have to turn your back and look away from the little ones pity cries and absolutely do not give in to them! The bigger ones will only turn on them worse if you do! It is HARD...but if I can do it, and New Chicken Family can do it with some guidance from me, then you can do it too!

 

[jamiebartlett]

I went out there and cut a hole that was small in the door, put some tape around the edges so it wont scratch anyone. One of the older ones got through the hole! So I used tape to make it smaller, hope it holds. The little ones refuse to come out right now, So I decided to leave. OOooo im so scared for the little ones! The bigguns are at least 3 -4 times bigger than they are!!

 

[New chicken family]

The older ones do chase the little ones but -- no blood- no foul!
Still working out well!

jamiebartlett -It will go great - have a little chicken faith!

Solvei

 

[jamiebartlett]

They've been out in the coop with the opportunity to mingle. I made the hole in the door, enticed the little ones to come out through it so they know it's there. I've gone out a few times to check and i'd see 1 or 2 walking around the bigger aprt of the coop near their door, then a big girl will come in and they run back inside. I left it the way it is over night. Hopefully they'll be fine in the morning. I did notice something new, my roo "sweetcheeks" was a little more on gaurd this evening, he sat at the coop door opening to the run until I cam eout to close it up then he promptly hopped up on the roost. He never has done that before. I thought it was cute! The little ones were sitting along the screen door rather than back against the wall. So it looks like there may be progress.

 

[4H kids and mom]

You're doing great. Stick with it! Soon you'll see more and more of them in the coop checking it out. Once you see most of them in the coop for longer periods of time without too much problem, then it will be time to remove their "safety zone" and fully integrate them. You can do it!