Tough Chicken Introduction Situation

It's not the length of the roosts that's important when integrating. It's can they roost without being attacked by the others. I'll look at the photos, those might help, but in your that it doesn't sound like you can put up a roost where they can be far enough away from the others. A 4' x 6' coop is great for 3 chickens but is really small for 9. That is the big part of your problem.

It sounds like this is a small elevated coop and fairly short. That's why the slanted roof is restricting adding a roost. It's fine for three hens but I want a walk-in coop for nine. It just makes life so much easier.

If they don't sleep on the roosts, where do they sleep when you lock them in with the others? Do they get attacked there? Chickens don't have to roost. They are not going to become ill or crippled if they don't sleep on roosts.

I bought my 6 hens almost exactly 4 months ago
Does this mean they are 4 months old? If so, that's why they aren't laying yet and are still immature. Once they start laying they should be accepted as adults and be allowed on the roosts. Eight feet of roosts is plenty for 9 chickens once they reach maturity and integration is complete but not if they are only 8" apart. I'd look real hard on how to separate the roosts some more. My goal is 12" minimum separation, but that won't be enough until they mature. Until they mature they are not going to be sleeping on the roosts in that coop.

It sounds like you are still having to put them in that coop every night? That's because they are scared of the three hens, they expect to be pecked if they go in. If the coop were big enough they could get in and to a safe place to sleep they could be trained to go in by themselves. You may be able to do that if you are consistent on putting them in every night but it may not be easy.

They're only using the coop during the night to sleep (6'x4').
That is totally normal if food and water is in the run. Mine leave the coop first thing every morning and only go back in at night or when they lay eggs. Otherwise they stay outside.

So what can you do? As long as no one is getting injured, keep doing what you are. My goal in integration is that no one gets injured. The rest can be worked out later.

Do you consider the run predator proof? Consider digging, climbing, and flying predators. If it is predator proof, let them sleep in the run for now.

You mentioned raising the roof. If you can create enough room under that slanted roof so you can really separate the roosts that could help a lot. A lot of that could depend on what your nests look like and your openings. I'd want them on each end of the 6 feet length. Probably not a practical solution. I'd be OK with one 4' roost for six chickens in this situation. That should be enough.

Getting rid of a few of yours won't really help the problem. It's not a square feet per chicken problem or a linear length of roost space problem. The coop is just not big enough to get the separation they need. So it's get rid of all of them if you go that route.

Your father's 3 hens are aging and probably laying eggs. Would he be willing to let them go if you gave him some or all of yours? Probably not right now, especially because yours aren't laying yet. But the older hens' productivity will probably drop after this year's molt so he might want some young pullets next spring since they will probably lay much better. I'm not sure what winters will be like in your part of Utah but if the run is not available to them for periods of time and they all have to stay in that tiny coop together, you are looking at problems. For three hens it should be fine. It will be tight for six. I would not want to face a winter where they are stuck in the coop with nine.

Good luck! Sounds like thigs were OK but then life threw a mess at you.
 
I just grabbed a bunch of pictures. I have been leaving the 2 big doors on either side open ~12 hours a day to help with the lack of ventilation.

20220908_071411.jpg
20220908_071422.jpg
20220908_071427.jpg
20220908_071456.jpg
20220908_071508.jpg
20220908_071513.jpg
20220908_071518.jpg
20220908_071929.jpg
 
It's not the length of the roosts that's important when integrating. It's can they roost without being attacked by the others. I'll look at the photos, those might help, but in your that it doesn't sound like you can put up a roost where they can be far enough away from the others. A 4' x 6' coop is great for 3 chickens but is really small for 9. That is the big part of your problem.

It sounds like this is a small elevated coop and fairly short. That's why the slanted roof is restricting adding a roost. It's fine for three hens but I want a walk-in coop for nine. It just makes life so much easier.

If they don't sleep on the roosts, where do they sleep when you lock them in with the others? Do they get attacked there? Chickens don't have to roost. They are not going to become ill or crippled if they don't sleep on roosts.


Does this mean they are 4 months old? If so, that's why they aren't laying yet and are still immature. Once they start laying they should be accepted as adults and be allowed on the roosts. Eight feet of roosts is plenty for 9 chickens once they reach maturity and integration is complete but not if they are only 8" apart. I'd look real hard on how to separate the roosts some more. My goal is 12" minimum separation, but that won't be enough until they mature. Until they mature they are not going to be sleeping on the roosts in that coop.

It sounds like you are still having to put them in that coop every night? That's because they are scared of the three hens, they expect to be pecked if they go in. If the coop were big enough they could get in and to a safe place to sleep they could be trained to go in by themselves. You may be able to do that if you are consistent on putting them in every night but it may not be easy.


That is totally normal if food and water is in the run. Mine leave the coop first thing every morning and only go back in at night or when they lay eggs. Otherwise they stay outside.

So what can you do? As long as no one is getting injured, keep doing what you are. My goal in integration is that no one gets injured. The rest can be worked out later.

Do you consider the run predator proof? Consider digging, climbing, and flying predators. If it is predator proof, let them sleep in the run for now.

You mentioned raising the roof. If you can create enough room under that slanted roof so you can really separate the roosts that could help a lot. A lot of that could depend on what your nests look like and your openings. I'd want them on each end of the 6 feet length. Probably not a practical solution. I'd be OK with one 4' roost for six chickens in this situation. That should be enough.

Getting rid of a few of yours won't really help the problem. It's not a square feet per chicken problem or a linear length of roost space problem. The coop is just not big enough to get the separation they need. So it's get rid of all of them if you go that route.

Your father's 3 hens are aging and probably laying eggs. Would he be willing to let them go if you gave him some or all of yours? Probably not right now, especially because yours aren't laying yet. But the older hens' productivity will probably drop after this year's molt so he might want some young pullets next spring since they will probably lay much better. I'm not sure what winters will be like in your part of Utah but if the run is not available to them for periods of time and they all have to stay in that tiny coop together, you are looking at problems. For three hens it should be fine. It will be tight for six. I would not want to face a winter where they are stuck in the coop with nine.

Good luck! Sounds like thigs were OK but then life threw a mess at you.
I just added the pictures. Right now I have 8 ft total of roosting space, but they're really close as you can see. I was thinking of decreasing the slant so I can add the two roosts further apart inside the coop. They can't be on either end of the coop, but I can get them probably a 1.5-2' apart. The run is not up to my standard for being predator proof through the night.

I didn't know they would be okay without roosting. The good part is that they don't sleep in the nesting box. The bad part is that they sleep under the other chickens and it has been heartbreaking to see them come out every day with poop on them. My dad loves his chickens and they are more like pets, already starting to lay less. I'm pretty sure we are able to let them go out throughout the winter but I can check up on that.

In terms of their relationship overall as a flock, is the bullying and "elitism" pretty much an age thing and the fact they don't lay? Once mine start laying eggs, do you think that's when they will all get along and have respect for each other vs just being constantly bullied and scared of the older ones? Won't the stress of having 3 big bullies prevent them from laying sooner? I'm a total newbie so anything helps. Thank you so much!
 
I know it's hard to rehome chickens you've raised, we've done it several times when life threw wrenches at us. I found that once you're able to get birds again it's like the fun starts fresh.
I'm saying this because you're in such a stressful sounding situation. It also sounds like it would be hard to advocate for your birds getting what they need as "guests".

You should give yourself a break. There are decent chicken people out there that would buy your nearly laying birds, and you could stow the money away to help pay for your next lot of chookies once you've got yourself situated in an environment you can control more. :hugs
 
Looks to me like if you decrease the slant of the roost (build up the sides on the low part), you can increase the space between the two roosts. Short term, if you choose to keep your chickens, that might be a good thing to do. Also, I would double or triple the ventilation above the chickens heads (you can put louvers over it to keep out snow and rain, just make sure to cover with hardware cloth for predator protection). When winter comes, you may have trouble if everyone is not getting along by then, but I defer to those keepers who have actual winter experience (I get three days of snow and we all huddle at home until it goes away).
 
...In terms of their relationship overall as a flock, is the bullying and "elitism" pretty much an age thing and the fact they don't lay?
No. That is part of it and may be helping compared to what would be happening if they were all laying adults. The bigger part is combining flocks without it being new territory to both. Back in the day, people didn't integrate (such as the see but don't touch method). They just "knew" you couldn't combine flocks without putting them, at the same time, into a space new to both flocks or they would kill each other. Possibly, some people, somewhere, knew how to integrate but I heard it from multiple people who kept chickens in my area.

I'm sorry I don't have any good ideas for your situation. I would find homes for the six and start over when I was settled.
 
No. That is part of it and may be helping compared to what would be happening if they were all laying adults. The bigger part is combining flocks without it being new territory to both. Back in the day, people didn't integrate (such as the see but don't touch method). They just "knew" you couldn't combine flocks without putting them, at the same time, into a space new to both flocks or they would kill each other. Possibly, some people, somewhere, knew how to integrate but I heard it from multiple people who kept chickens in my area.

I'm sorry I don't have any good ideas for your situation. I would find homes for the six and start over when I was settled.
I think it can be done, but it will definitely require time and space. And patience. I'd figure out a way to keep and house the 6 separately - maybe temporary fencing and a pallet coop or hoop coop or some other less expensive option. Rehoming is definitely an option, but not always easy to do. I'd at least try before giving them up. I've moved my flock 4 times, and they're about to move a 5th time. And I once added a rescued group to my established flock with zero bloodshed. I'm definitely not an expert, but there are so many variables that it's tough for anyone to know what to do.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom