Ugh! Integrating?!

[MommaG2023]

I've been reading through the other threads but not really seeing any definitive things. Some say put them together at night, some say let them all get close to the same size, etc. But for 3 days, we've had parallel runs and I tried to let the two, older, newest, female additions into the big run with our 11 week old flock of 6 hens and one rooster. The older two immediately started chasing the younger ones down and attacking them. The rooster was the younguns' champion, but even he seemed intimidated. I was in there so I started toward them all so the older two ran back to the little run and I called my littler ones to me and that separated everybody. I closed the pop door between runs and started checking everybody for blood or injuries. Nothing, thank goodness, but then the older girls made a lot more noise and the young ones hid in their coop for a while until they were positive the coast was clear.

Here's my main problem, though...those big girls can't stay in the small coop and run very much longer. Is there a foolproof way to get them together a little quicker? We don't have a lot of things inside the run yet. We are building a roost system to look kind of like a lake hut, but haven't yet. Any help is appreciated as always!

I have 5 six week pullets and 11 ten week pullets and 4 cockerels. My littles were introduced in this beside the bigs for 2 weeks for various amounts of time. We use a towel to cover the top for shade when needed. They have been in this in the run with my bigs everyday and yesterday I opened the door but only far enough for the littles to slip in and out and escape. We have folding chairs branches feed barrels and toys scattered in the big run and at first my GCs chased the littles but honestly I think I have gotten lucky because yesterday they were all eating and going in and out of the Coop at random together. I have always supervised though just in case. Maybe you can add a cage??? Again I am new to this but it seemed to work out ok so far...time will tell good luck

 

[Lor]

I forgot to mention that my husband wants his pallet back. Lol. He can't have it until the roosting hut is built, though.

I bought a kitchen chair from Goodwill for $1 to use in the run when integrating. Young ones would jump up on top or quickly dart under. Things leaned against the side like a tunnel (even that cardboard or fencing. Never know what you'll find. LOL

 

[NatJ]

Is there any way you can put a fence, even a temporary one, around the little coop the older hens are in? That way the chickens can all see, hear and smell each other without physical contact and get used to each other. I do this for about two weeks and then open the gate that separates them and bingo, integration complete with no issues.

Oh wait. The little coop is not right next to the big run, is it? This would only work if the two sets of chickens were side by side, with only a fence between them.

I thought I saw a big run (slanted roof), a smaller rectangular run, and a little coop with a run-like space underneath. I was assuming the rectangular run in the middle was available to the hens, attached to their little coop, so both groups could interact through wire mesh at the spot the runs come together.

But I may be wrong, because I could be mis-interpreting what I see in the photo

 

[Atchurch]

Is there any way you can put a fence, even a temporary one, around the little coop the older hens are in? That way the chickens can all see, hear and smell each other without physical contact and get used to each other. I do this for about two weeks and then open the gate that separates them and bingo, integration complete with no issues.

The runs are butt-up against each other and they have construction cloth between them, but they can't get to each other. I'll just have to keep them in there longer than I had thought.

 

[Atchurch]

It's hard to tell from the pic, there looks like a space where that metal garbage can is, and then a smaller pen, and then the big one.

That can is kind of in a crook of the run where it comes off the coop, on the outside so I can get to their food (secured in that trashcan). The little coop and run are built together and the run is about 25 sq ft. It attaches to the big run by a pop door and hardware cloth around that. So they could even peck through the wire, if they wanted, at the other babies. They hang out by that area a lot because everybody's curious about each other.

 

[Nicci0110]

I feel like I've been doing this with a set that are 11 weeks apart. Mine free range daily and we allowed the smaller ones to do so also. Things were ugly for a bit. I allowed the look but don't touch for about 2 weeks first. Once the littles were out there was some pecking and chasing. I o ly intervened when they pulled feathers. We finally decided to expand the run. We did this and watched them all together for several nights. Things were great. The next day I left them in the run for 2 hours. My husband checked them in between and at 9 when the solar door opened for them to free range. One of my littles had been scapled. I am currently on the way to the beach with a chicken in tow.....lol
Needless to say since then the other littles seem to be slowly integrating. The big ones are calming down but I won't trust leaving them enclosed in the run together until the littles catch up in size. In the mean time we separated them and built a second coop that is hopefully temporary. The littles ones do try to go in with the big ones but again until they catch up on size I will keep them copping separated and not enclosed together but they free range daily from 9 to 8 with no issues. It is a really long process at least for me. My older chickens are rhode island reds so they are known bullies. This my be my problem.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I feel like I've been doing this with a set that are 11 weeks apart. Mine free range daily and we allowed the smaller ones to do so also. Things were ugly for a bit. I allowed the look but don't touch for about 2 weeks first. Once the littles were out there was some pecking and chasing. I o ly intervened when they pulled feathers. We finally decided to expand the run. We did this and watched them all together for several nights. Things were great. The next day I left them in the run for 2 hours. My husband checked them in between and at 9 when the solar door opened for them to free range. One of my littles had been scapled. I am currently on the way to the beach with a chicken in tow.....lol
Needless to say since then the other littles seem to be slowly integrating. The big ones are calming down but I won't trust leaving them enclosed in the run together until the littles catch up in size. In the mean time we separated them and built a second coop that is hopefully temporary. The littles ones do try to go in with the big ones but again until they catch up on size I will keep them copping separated and not enclosed together but they free range daily from 9 to 8 with no issues. It is a really long process at least for me. My older chickens are rhode island reds so they are known bullies. This my be my problem.

Yeah, I have no desire to get RIRs. I may have accidentally ended up with ONE, but at least I figure not as much damage one chick can do when she's completely outnumbered lol still not entirely sure if she's really an RIR or just a red SGE, but anyhow. I cannot imagine coming out and finding a baby chicken SCALPED by her flockmates. How grim.

 

[Nicci0110]

Yeah, I have no desire to get RIRs. I may have accidentally ended up with ONE, but at least I figure not as much damage one chick can do when she's completely outnumbered lol still not entirely sure if she's really an RIR or just a red SGE, but anyhow. I cannot imagine coming out and finding a baby chicken SCALPED by her flockmates. How grim.

So my rir were my first chickens. They were given to me by a friend. I later found out 3 are full rir and 3 are mixed with it. Then I really fell in love and got 7 more. Barred Rocks, orpington, leyhorn, red sex link, and one Easter egger. It's crazy how much sweeter these are both to eachother and in general. I considered rehoming the rir to my neighbor but couldn't do it. I've just put in the work. I sit in the run every night with them and shoot anyone with a water gun who is rough. It's funny because most of the others will be bigger than the first set and one day I think they may get revenge lol. But I'm glad I kept them and put in the work because I was an emotional wreck when I was considering giving them up and my husband finally made the call and said we would just accommodate the run to their needs until we worked it out. The rir love me fiercely and are super spoiled. They were inside for 11 weeks. I never realized 11 weeks would be such a difference but I'm new and learning. My hurt baby is doing really well and her flock still let's her play with them when I let her but she's inside and becoming more spoiled by the day and like I said she's headed to the beach now.

 

[Atchurch]

Yeah, I have no desire to get RIRs. I may have accidentally ended up with ONE, but at least I figure not as much damage one chick can do when she's completely outnumbered lol still not entirely sure if she's really an RIR or just a red SGE, but anyhow. I cannot imagine coming out and finding a baby chicken SCALPED by her flockmates. How grim.

My cockrell is a RIR and two of my pullets. Everybody else are BRs.

 

[Atchurch]

So my rir were my first chickens. They were given to me by a friend. I later found out 3 are full rir and 3 are mixed with it. Then I really fell in love and got 7 more. Barred Rocks, orpington, leyhorn, red sex link, and one Easter egger. It's crazy how much sweeter these are both to eachother and in general. I considered rehoming the rir to my neighbor but couldn't do it. I've just put in the work. I sit in the run every night with them and shoot anyone with a water gun who is rough. It's funny because most of the others will be bigger than the first set and one day I think they may get revenge lol. But I'm glad I kept them and put in the work because I was an emotional wreck when I was considering giving them up and my husband finally made the call and said we would just accommodate the run to their needs until we worked it out. The rir love me fiercely and are super spoiled. They were inside for 11 weeks. I never realized 11 weeks would be such a difference but I'm new and learning. My hurt baby is doing really well and her flock still let's her play with them when I let her but she's inside and becoming more spoiled by the day and like I said she's headed to the beach now. View attachment 3518126View attachment 3518127View attachment 3518128

My younguns were raised by me since the day after they hatched and the 3 RIRs and 6 BRs that I raised love me and are spoiled a little more every day. They jump in my lap to take mini naps. But the 2 big BRs we just got don't trust me yet, but now, they don't run away if I get their water and food and stuff. They'll love me one day, I'm sure. I'd call it persistent but most people would just call me stubborn.