Unique Introduction

[Kealey]

So a couple weeks back we bought a mother hen and six chicks, unfortunately she only accepted four of them (only the ones the same color as her; four were black, the other two were yellow, is this unusual?) and the other two didn't make it. Anyway, at this point the chicks are at least a month old and I was wondering if I can let them and there mom move in with the rest of the flock. Here's the kicker, the mother hen herself has never been introduced to the flock before as we kept her and her chicks separate from the day we brought them home. About a week ago, I moved her and her chicks to a larger cage that resides in the coop with the rest of the flock, though still separated enough that the others cant get in. A couple days I let them out to wander around with the rest, very closely supervised. One of the Red Stars we have immediately chased after her and pecked at her (I'm assuming to figure out the pecking order). I chased her and the majority of the flock outside and closed the door leaving just her, her chicks, and three of our oldest and most docile layers. They got along just fine as the three that were left didn't even pay attention to her. Anyway, my question is when and if it would be a good idea to let her and her chicks merge with the rest of the flock. They all know each other exists but I don't know if the fact that the mom is new as well as her chicks would be an issue.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It is not at all unusual for a hen to reject chicks that are different colors but I strongly suspect that if you had 4 yellow chicks and only 2 black chicks that the black chicks would be the rejected chicks.

After rereading your post are the 2 yellow chicks just now being rejected or has your hen shunned them in favor of the 4 black chicks from day one? If the hen has just shunned the yellow chicks she may be weaning her brood. If you are a chicken childhood is both short and brutal.

 

[azygous]

This is a confusing thread. More clarification is definitely in order as far as which chicks have survived and how many of them now remain.

As for the integration issue, you would have done far better to put this new hen and her chicks in a protective enclosure in direct proximity to the existing flock from the moment you got them.

Broody hens are very good, usually, about exerting their authority as protectors of their chicks, and most times, the flock won't want anything to do with their fierce dispositions. They will defer to the broody when she makes any display of protecting her chicks. But as a rule, the broody will have status already in the flock.

However, you've made a very good first attempt at integration. Keep up this strategy you've begun, take it slow, watch the reactions of the flock, and deal with any incidents that arise. It shouldn't take all that long for these new members of the flock to be accepted.

 

[lazy gardener]

If I understand you correctly, the 4 black chicks survived, and the 2 yellow ones did not. While hens (and roosters) can and sometimes do show prejudice, I'm thinking that the 2 yellows were failure to thrive. That's going under the assumption that they had adequate care including housing, feed, and heat. And, a hen is very likely to reject a failure to thrive chick as it will jeopardize the rest of her brood. But, you are left with 4 healthy chicks and a proven broody mama. Good for you!

IMO, the easiest way to integrate any birds is to have those initial meetings (after the birds have been caged within sight of the rest of the flock for a bit) occur when they are supervised and free ranging. I like to toss out a bit of scratch, fling it far and wide, and let them enjoy the pecking. I would sit near by, with a long range squirt bottle to deal with any instigators. Perhaps do the first free range meeting with the more docile flock members first. Then allow the rest of the flock to join when Mama and babies are comfortable with the first group.

That the red star went after Mama, and not the chicks is a good sign. If any of your flock members had attacked the chicks, that would have been a more difficult situation to deal with. As long as you have plenty of room in coop and run (4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird), plenty of multiple height areas, as well as out of sight but not dead end areas, and multiple feeding stations, I am of the opinion that early chick integration is much better than waiting until the chicks are full sized. (I like to integrate between 4 - 9 weeks.)

 

[Kealey]

Thank you everyone! Sorry about any confusion, I had posted that right before bed and I guess my sleepiness leaked into the message. Here's what happened: We bought the mama hen from a friend (she had a whole bunch of chicks with her at the time that she was temporarily fostering, as our friend was going to sell them separately at the auction the next day). We bought 6 chicks from that same friend the next morning at that auction. We hadn't had time to set up their brooder yet so we thought we would just put the chicks in the cage with the mama hen. She was perfectly fine with the first four black ones we put in with her, but harshly pecked at the two yellow ones. She had been especially harsh with the youngest one; actually picking him up in her beak and dropping him a couple times. I immediately separated them temporarily placing the two yellow ones back in the box they came in while I threw together a brooder for them. We used a small animal carrier with a heat lamp pointed right into the door of it so they had warmth, with available food and water. A couple days later the youngest yellow one died, I'm assuming it was most likely from the stress of not being accepted by the mama hen. The other yellow one stayed alive for a while and we were able to place him in a proper brooder. However, after almost a month of being happy and healthy (albeit lonely) one of our cats somehow managed to get in and kill him. So overall, the two yellow ones had to be separated from the mama hen, and both eventually died, while the 4 black ones are still with her now and more then eager to get out of there cage and mingle with the rest of the flock.

 

[Kealey]

If I understand you correctly, the 4 black chicks survived, and the 2 yellow ones did not. While hens (and roosters) can and sometimes do show prejudice, I'm thinking that the 2 yellows were failure to thrive. That's going under the assumption that they had adequate care including housing, feed, and heat. And, a hen is very likely to reject a failure to thrive chick as it will jeopardize the rest of her brood. But, you are left with 4 healthy chicks and a proven broody mama. Good for you!

IMO, the easiest way to integrate any birds is to have those initial meetings (after the birds have been caged within sight of the rest of the flock for a bit) occur when they are supervised and free ranging. I like to toss out a bit of scratch, fling it far and wide, and let them enjoy the pecking. I would sit near by, with a long range squirt bottle to deal with any instigators. Perhaps do the first free range meeting with the more docile flock members first. Then allow the rest of the flock to join when Mama and babies are comfortable with the first group.

That the red star went after Mama, and not the chicks is a good sign. If any of your flock members had attacked the chicks, that would have been a more difficult situation to deal with. As long as you have plenty of room in coop and run (4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird), plenty of multiple height areas, as well as out of sight but not dead end areas, and multiple feeding stations, I am of the opinion that early chick integration is much better than waiting until the chicks are full sized. (I like to integrate between 4 - 9 weeks.)

I'll definitely try that then. Thank you. One other thing though, the mama hen is a bantam so she's smaller then the majority of the flock. However, they dont seem to have any issues with the other bantam (gold laced sebright) that has been a part of the flock since day one. Do you think it will be more likely that the others might be more aggressive towards her when settling pecking order since she is smaller?

 

[azygous]

I've found that size isn't nearly as decisive in chicken social orders as individual temperament. If your half pint has an assertive nature, she should be able to hold her own just fine.