Really need advice

[vernandang]

I have 12 and 13 week old chickens, the 10 of them have been together most of their lives. Now I have two that are 6 weeks old. My husband built a small chicken run for them and we bring them in at night. Both chicken runs are beside each other and there have been no issues.

Today, I tried to have a play date but it didn't go as I hoped (everyone is fine), well I'm not! I didn't realize they would be so aggressive.

So can someone tell me the correct way to integrate them?

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

I have 12 and 13 week old chickens, the 10 of them have been together most of their lives. Now I have two that are 6 weeks old. My husband built a small chicken run for them and we bring them in at night. Both chicken runs are beside each other and there have been no issues.

Today, I tried to have a play date but it didn't go as I hoped (everyone is fine), well I'm not! I didn't realize they would be so aggressive.

So can someone tell me the correct way to integrate them?

Maybe have the younger ones in a large, chicken wired dog cage to that they can see each other. Have the cage in the coop and after a few days let them out for a little while and see what happens. If it doesn't work out, put the young ones in the cage again and try again In a few days. Repeat.
Best of luck!
Pastel

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You are doing the right thing, with see and be seen. Sadly, "Pecking Order" is in fact PECKING order. That's how they establish their relative positions in the flock - and they will do it all over again (most likely) as individual birds begin to lay.

Rough as it sometimes looks, unless they are picking a bird's but raw or leaving bloody gashes, do nothing. The pecking is normal and seemingly necessary.

Your integration space should be as large as possible, and have plenty of clutter - so young birds/less dominant birds can run away and break line of sight with their aggressor. It helps (some). Long narrow runs do not aid that. Neither do bare runs.

 

[Mrs. K]

How does your run look? Is it a wide open space where every bird can see every other bird 100% of the time? If so, you need to add clutter to it. Boxes, pallets, cardboard walls, anything a bird can get on top of, behind or underneath, and step out of sight for a moment. Do set up two or three feed bowls and place them so a bird eating at one cannot see a bird eating at another.

Then flip your flocks, put the old ones where you have the young ones, and the young ones in the main set up. This lets them explore without being chased. They can find the hideouts so they can get away.

If you older ones won't fit with the babies, let them out into the yard for most of the day, locking the chicks in the set up. Rinse repeat for a couple of days, letting the older girls in on the first day, as near dark as you dare, and each subsequent day a little earlier.

10 to 2 is often too much, try adding just a single older hen to young ones. They will be bluster, but should not be too bad, wait a day or two until that calms down, add another older bird, wait. Try to add middle of the flock birds, not the bullies and not the lowest ones.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

we bring them in at night

Leave then out there 24/7, for at least a couple weeks.

Here's some tips about.....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Ridgerunner]

So can someone tell me the correct way to integrate them?

There are many different "correct" ways to integrate them. What works best for you depends some on the personalities of the individual chickens but a lot more on what you are working with. In feet or meters, how big are your coops? Runs? How are they interconnected? Photos could be very helpful, a photo showing what the coop looks like inside and an overall photo showing how they are tied together. It's a lot easier for me to give you specific suggestions if I know what you are working with. Otherwise all we can do is give generic suggestions like Aart did.

One way chickens have learned to live together is that in case of conflict, the weaker runs away from the stronger and avoids them in the future. This means they need enough room to run away and stay away. More mature chickens naturally outrank less mature chickens in the pecking order. This can be adults with chicks or different aged chicks like yours. If a lower ranked chicken invades the personal space of a higher ranked, they are likely to get pecked. It usually doesn't take them long to learn to not invade that personal space. With my flock it's typical to see different sub-flocks, each age group hanging together and pretty much avoiding the others. I have over 3,000 square feet of space outside and three different buildings they can sleep in so mine have room. They do actually intermingle more than this implies but in general they hang in different sub-flocks. The older ones can also enforce their pecking order rights by intimidation. They may bully the young ones away from food or water. It's very typical at night that the young ones sleep away from the older. As long as mine are not sleeping in the nests and are sleeping somewhere predator safe I don't care where they sleep. They will work all this out when they all mature. This is why you generally need more room to integrate than for a fully integrated mature flock.

Not all of us have enough room to do this effortlessly. We have learned tricks to ease this process. I don't do what Mrs. K does but that works for her with her set-up. Things like housing them across wire from each other so they get used to them. Multiple food and water stations. Adding clutter to what space you have to improve the quality of your space. Maybe setting up a "safe haven" where the younger ones can escape to when the adults chase them. I brood mine in the coop from hatch or have a broody hen raise them with the flock. Growing up with the flock makes this whole process easier, especially with extra room. Which tricks or methods can apply to your set-up depends on what you have to work with. For example, when I go down to let them out in the morning it is common to see the juveniles on my 5' high roosts while the adults are on the coop floor. Those roosts are high enough to give them room to avoid. Many people don't have roosts that high.

Good luck!

 

[3KillerBs]

x2

This advice from these people has seen me through 4 smooth integrations so far.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Agree - Aart and Ridgerunner's opinions, plus encouragement from 3KB have informed the way I integrate. The only change is that I have much more space than most and a "large" (for a backyard) flock, which honestly makes things easier.

 

[vernandang]

So they are now with the big ones, they aren't being abused but they aren't part of the flock yet. Will they ever be part of the group?

 

[3KillerBs]

So they are now with the big ones, they aren't being abused but they aren't part of the flock yet. Will they ever be part of the group?

They will form a flock together as they mature and start laying eggs.