taking my chicks to the outside coop

[FunnyFarmJess]

Hi this is my second year for raising my chicks. I have 3, 1 year old hens and one rooster all Buff Orphingtons in a 8'×8' coop with a 8'×12' run. Anyhoo I have 6 chicks about 6 or 7 weeks old in my house. I have been taking them outside the past couple days in a fenced in area to get used to being outside, my other chickens don't seem bothered by them (they are also free range), but I'm not sure when and how I should leave them in the coop with the older ones. The 6 smaller chicks I have are 3 buff orphingtons and 3 black Cornish rocks and I believe I do have a couple cockerels.

 

[aart]

Here's some notes I've taken on integration that I found to be very helpful.......
......take what applies or might help and ignore the rest.
See if any of them, or the links provided at the bottom, might offer some tips that will assist you in your situation:

Integration of new chickens into flock.

Consider medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article
Poultry Biosecurity
BYC 'medical quarantine' search

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. Integrating new birds of equal size works best.

For smaller chicks I used a large wire dog crate right in the coop for the smallers. I removed the crate door and put up a piece of wire fencing over the opening and bent up one corner just enough for the smallers to fit thru but the biggers could not. Feed and water inside the crate for the smallers. Make sure the smallers know how to get in and out of the crate opening before exposing them to the olders. this worked out great for me, by the time the crate was too small for the them to roost in there(about 3 weeks), they had pretty much integrated themselves to the olders.

If you have too many smallers to fit in a crate you can partition off part of the coop with a wire wall and make the same openings for smallers escape.


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 blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down, 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 and/or up and away from any bully birds.

Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[FunnyFarmJess]

Thanks

 

[Blooie]

x2 on everything aart says! Mine are also in a pen out in the run from the time they are day old chicks. They see the Bigs, the Bigs see them, day in and day out. At first there is a lot of curiosity - the Bigs hang around the side of the pen (which is wire pen, by the way) staring at the chicks. But they soon go about their business, and that's when it gets fun. The Littles watch the Bigs and start to imitate their behaviors. When the Littles are bigger, we start letting them interact with the Bigs by opening their pen, but propping the door in such a way that the older chickens can't follow the chicks if they run back into the pen. Putting them outside together seems to work well - the Bigs are busy foraging and don't pay much attention to the Littles running around with them. I do that when I'm doing chicken chores.

I don't worry as much about Bio-security as I probably should. I would be a stickler about it if I brought older chicks or birds in, but from their first day my chicks are outside with the big chickens. The pen is set up in the run, right over where all the chickens have been before. The bottom is open to the ground. So the chicks are exposed to whatever is in the run from their first day, and I think that helps them build up a natural immunity in a controlled way. They also spend time outside in the big wide world from two weeks old on. After all, a broody doesn't isolate her chicks from germs and such when she first takes them out of the nest, either. They are on the same dirt, the same litter, and around the same birds from the start.

As aart said, multiple feed and water stations are critical. Those big chickens are mighty protective of their food and water supply, and that's where most of the squabbles will take place.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What they said. My brooder is in the coop so they are exposed to each other from day #1. I don’t have serious problems integrating, sometimes as young as five weeks with no safe haven. I do have lots of room though. I’m convinced that helps. Nothing wrong with a safe haven in any case.

I strongly agree with Blooie on exposing them to their environment from Day 1. Keep the brooder pretty dry since a wet brooder is dangerous, but start strengthening their immune system form Day 1. They will be much healthier in the long term. They are going to be exposed to anything that is there at some point and are better able to handle that adjustment when they are baby chicks.