The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thoughts, please.

Have a group of 6 chicks that range in age from 7-9 weeks old.  Another group that will be 3 weeks old on Friday.  These are very different breeds!  (SFH the older group, Buckeye's the younger group.)

Do you think it's too early to try integrating these 2 groups together?  I assume that the 3 week olds would still need to have a safe escape fro the 9 week olds...

I would start by penning them next to each other for about two weeks than start letting them mingle, the young ones will get some size to them and they should be familiar with seeing each other. Integrating young to young can be rough sometimes, but I would get started if you have the setup. Just be ready to round the young ones up after a short while. The first few times can last minutes before I consider it enough. I just try again each day eventually there's less rough stuff.

 

[Leahs Mom]

From the day that I brought the Buckeyes home, they have been right next to the older chicks. The overall pen size is 6x6 ft. I've divided it so that each group had approximately half of that pen and lined the divider so that the tinys couldn't get through any cracks so they're used to seeing each other.

Kind-of funny...when I take the bigger kiddos outside, the little ones peep loudly, presumably not wanting to be left alone without their "other-side-of the-fence" peeps.

One day I had one of the adult chickens go over on the other side (while the mid-age were outside). The tinys were about 1.5 week olds. When they saw that giant bird over there they all became completely silent and just stood looking at her for a long time. (She was busy cleaning up some mealworms I had put down for her to get her to go in there.

It was like "total awe" at the size of that hen. "Look at that! I didn't know they came in that size!" (They do have an area of their fence where they can see the larger birds but the adults don't go over to that area a lot so their regular experience has been with the mid-size mostly.)

 

[Leahs Mom]

@lazy gardener had some good ideas too on the "mother heat pad" thread that I think I'm going to try out.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would try mingling them and see how it goes. I would be curious if there was troubles or not since they have been next to each other all along.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Lazy gardener suggested starting out putting ONE of the older ones in with the smallers to see how that goes, then if it goes well, rotating in various individuals to see how they behave. And a few other tricks too. I thought that might be a good idea as it wouldn't be total chaos if I had to quickly remove the older bird(s).

I had thought I'd wait until the little ones were 3.5 weeks old but, of course, the older they get the older the mid-sized kiddos get too!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That also sounds like a good idea, it could also help identify any bullies in the older group. Sounds like fun. I'm going be hoping some of my eggs are going to hatch today, lots of looking under the broodies today and snatching chicks if they hatch. They are bantam that are hatching for me and they are hatching large breeds that are in a different shed, so they can't raise them or I will never keep them out of the bantam pen.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Update on the Integration saga...

I had decided that when I got home from work I was going to try what @lazy gardener suggested and take in 2 of the middle agers into the littles pen and watch to see how things go. I was going to take in Whoopsie (because she's one of the smallest and seems like she'd do okay)and my most enjoyable little roo (personality and color-wise).

Whoopsie (because of the crest) and the little roo:




So I go out there and WHAT? WHOOPSIE IS ON THE LITTLE CHICK SIDE OF THE DIVIDER. Actually, very frantically wishing to be on the other side with her age group.

(I know how she got there but I won't go into that now. Just suffice to say that this has never happened before so it was a total surprise.)

Thankfully the littles didn't seem to be terrorized.


So I fetch Whoopsie back onto her own side and lock all the mid-sized kiddos into a different 6x6 that's adjacent to the chick-safe pen. They already had the run of their side of the baby pen and a little port to go into that adjacent pen during the daytime so they're used to being in there.

Then I totally took down the divider and gave the littles the run of the full 6x6 baby safe pen. I let them run around in there and get accustomed to it, then brought over Whoopsie and the little roo. They did quite well.

Then I brought 1 more over. Still doing okay. Then another.
Then the one that I thought would be most agressive and I was right. Not good. I played the part of the rooster and every time she'd approach them, I'd press her down to the ground and make her "submit"...made things a bit unpleasant. Eventually she did okay but not trustworthy at all.

Pretty soon all were in the same 6x6 and doing "okay" as long as I was in. If I went out I carried out the aggressive one w/me.

Anyhow, spent about 1.5 hour with them but if I would go out of the pen, some of the elders would approach the littles in a way that would not end well.


But...for day 1 at it I thought it went quite well.

 

[lazy gardener]

Update on the Integration saga...

I had decided that when I got home from work I was going to try what @lazy gardener suggested and take in 2 of the middle agers into the littles pen and watch to see how things go. I was going to take in Whoopsie (because she's one of the smallest and seems like she'd do okay)and my most enjoyable little roo (personality and color-wise).

Whoopsie (because of the crest) and the little roo:




So I go out there and WHAT? WHOOPSIE IS ON THE LITTLE CHICK SIDE OF THE DIVIDER. Actually, very frantically wishing to be on the other side with her age group.

(I know how she got there but I won't go into that now. Just suffice to say that this has never happened before so it was a total surprise.)

Thankfully the littles didn't seem to be terrorized.


So I fetch Whoopsie back onto her own side and lock all the mid-sized kiddos into a different 6x6 that's adjacent to the chick-safe pen. They already had the run of their side of the baby pen and a little port to go into that adjacent pen during the daytime so they're used to being in there.

Then I totally took down the divider and gave the littles the run of the full 6x6 baby safe pen. I let them run around in there and get accustomed to it, then brought over Whoopsie and the little roo. They did quite well.

Then I brought 1 more over. Still doing okay. Then another.
Then the one that I thought would be most agressive and I was right. Not good. I played the part of the rooster and every time she'd approach them, I'd press her down to the ground and make her "submit"...made things a bit unpleasant. Eventually she did okay but not trustworthy at all.

Pretty soon all were in the same 6x6 and doing "okay" as long as I was in. If I went out I carried out the aggressive one w/me.

Anyhow, spent about 1.5 hour with them but if I would go out of the pen, some of the elders would approach the littles in a way that would not end well.


But...for day 1 at it I thought it went quite well.

There's bound to be some playground scuffles. Just the nature of the little beasties. Unless they are drawing blood, or ganging up on the babies, I'd not worry over much... but you're the one there to see what's happening, and best able to make a judgement call about how much bullying you'll allow.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just posted this on the Indiana thread but also wanted to post here with the photos

**************************************
So...here are the pens in the barn.

SFH range from 7-9 wks; Buckeyes are 2.5. They were originally sharing half of a 6x6 chick-safe pen in the barn with a removable divider between. For the last few days the older sfh chicks were able to use a little sliding pop door during the day to go into an adjacent 6x6 pen or go back into the chick-safe area.

So...yesterday I shut the little sliding pop door so the big kids have the 6x6 adjacent area. Then I took down the divider in the chick area and let the little ones run around the whole area and get used to it for awhile.

Then I brought some of the older chicks in - 2 at first, then after observing awhile adding 1 more observing, etc. (Thanks @lazy gardener and @aart for that good advice!) I only had 1 aggressive older chick so I began working on her. Whenever she'd go after one of the little ones I would press her down to the floor and hold her there and "rebuke" her ("Don't you do that! Those are MY chicks.")

Anyhow, I was out there about 2 hours then put the older chicks back in their new area. Did it again this afternoon after work.

So far it's going pretty well.

Here are some photos of the new chick-safe pen and the adjacent pen that the older chicks are in.


Looking through the kennel pen that the older chicks are in you can see the chick safe pen behind. The SFH are in the front kennel. Both the mid-sized and the tinys are visible to the adults.





There are 2 doors that were made to be "chick portals" allowing them to be opened small enough that the chicks can get through but older birds can't. There is one under the people door that slides sideways. Can slide it to whatever width is needed. Right to the left of it is a larger portal/pop hole. It slides vertical. We put a temporary frame with hardware cloth in it so that they had more light back there and more area where they could see the older birds (see but no touch. ) The little pop doors are inspired by @azygous ...thanks





Here's looking in the chick save pen from the back side. We put another people door back there which came in really handy when it was divided in half for the 2 ages brooding. I could go in the back gate to tend to the Buckeyes; the door on the other end to tend to the SFH.


This is looking at the slider under the front gate from the inside of the pen.


And the other door that we put in the temporary hardware cloth "window".




And...silly little SFH like sleeping in a box!

 

[Leahs Mom]

And... a few photos of the Buckeyes at 2.5 weeks old yesterday.

I'm not used to having 6 babies that all look alike! All my previous birds have been pretty distinguishable. I've banded those little legs so I can figure out who is who by color