Went to fully introduce them!

[9reasons]

So I have a couple of questions. I have had two Orpington pullets for 5 weeks, they are now 11 and 12 weeks old. Three weeks ago I got a full grown Orpington now 37 weeks old and laying. When she first saw my two pullets she was acting pretty brutal with them pulling their feathers out and pecking them hard. We split the coop and run in half and they have been in a ‘look don’t touch’ situation both having six hours free ranging a day, either the older girl or the two pullets for 3 weeks now. We have tried them out together for the last hour of the day for three days now. The older girls behaviour has settled right down, she still chases them a bit but it seems more like normal pecking order behaviour now. How much longer do you think I should wait before I unblock the coop and run and let them sleep together and wake up together and all be in the run until I let them out? It’s quite small because the idea was for them to sleep and eat there and mostly free range during the day. Thanks in advance for any advice. I also need to check and see if my chick starter food is medicated because I know my big girl can’t eat that as I understand it will affect us eating her eggs?

Secondly, is it okay to crush up her shells from her eggs and feed it back to them for calcium or will that encourage them to eat their own eggs? Many thanks… I have only had chickens a month and this is all very new

 

[aart]

How much longer do you think I should wait before I unblock the coop and run and let them sleep together and wake up together and all be in the run until I let them out?

Id say go for it.
How is the coop and run divided, with mesh so they can see each other at all times....or?
Dimensions and pics of coop and run always help here.

I also need to check and see if my chick starter food is medicated because I know my big girl can’t eat that as I understand it will affect us eating her eggs?

It won't 'hurt' the older bird, but she needs calcium, and the chicks don't need to be on medicated feed any longer. I feed a 20% all flock type feed to all my birds, with a separate small feeder with oyster shell and crushed eggs shells mixed in for the active layers.

Secondly, is it okay to crush up her shells from her eggs and feed it back to them for calcium or will that encourage them to eat their own eggs?

It will not cause egg eating.

 

[NatJ]

I also need to check and see if my chick starter food is medicated because I know my big girl can’t eat that as I understand it will affect us eating her eggs?

If the chick starter is not medicated, it's fine.

If it is medicated, check which medication it is. Some medications would be a problem if you want to eat the eggs, but some other medications are fine.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How much longer do you think I should wait before I unblock the coop and run and let them sleep together and wake up together and all be in the run until I let them out? It’s quite small because the idea was for them to sleep and eat there and mostly free range during the day.

I'd try now. I'd try taking down the separation in the coop during the day when they are free ranging and see what happens at bedtime. They may sort it themselves or the two may try to sleep somewhere else. If they try to sleep somewhere else lock them in the coop after it is too dark for the older hen to attack them. In either case be there at first light so you can see how it is going every morning until you are comfortable they won't get hurt or you decide to try something else.

I also need to check and see if my chick starter food is medicated because I know my big girl can’t eat that as I understand it will affect us eating her eggs?

If it is medicated, what is the medicine? If it is Amprolium, you can eat the eggs without a withdrawal period. If it is something else, what is it?

Since they were exposed to your soil five weeks ago and that hen three weeks ago, they should have developed immunity to any Coccidiosis protozoa you have. They don't need medicated feed. But if you have it and it is Amprolium I'd finish the bag.

is it okay to crush up her shells from her eggs and feed it back to them for calcium or will that encourage them to eat their own eggs?

In my opinion, even if you don't crush them up it will not cause egg eating. But many people not only crush them but also bake them before feeding them back as a precaution.

Chickens can get calcium from many different sources: their feed, plants they eat, creepy crawlies they catch, and if your native soil is limestone event the rock they eat for grit. They need some extra calcium for body functions, not just to make eggshells. Also, their body does not digest every bit of calcium they eat, some passes on through and out the back end. If the only calcium they get is from their own eggs it is a losing proposition, but it is not. It is possible they are getting enough calcium from other sources. The added eggshells may be enough to see that they have enough. If they are getting enough from other sources they may even not eat eggshells if you offer them.

Let your eggshells tell you if they are getting enough calcium or not. If they are thin or soft then they need more, maybe offer oyster shell. But if they are thick and hard you are doing OK.

 

[K0k0shka]

Chick starter medicated with Amprolium (the most common type of medicated feed in the US) doesn't affect older birds, and you can eat their eggs just fine. You can also keep feeding it to the pullets until you finish the bag (so it won't go to waste) even if they no longer need it. It won't hurt them, it just won't do anything if it's already done its job and helped their immune systems learn how to fight it on their own. Finish the bag and then put everybody on 20% protein flock raiser type of feed, with crushed eggshell or oyster shell on the side, and you won't have to juggle different types of feed.

 

[9reasons]

Thanks everyone. The coop and run we cut the mesh on both and made like a tunnel so they can move between the two. In the meantime we have been using a medium-sized cat carrier wedged in the tunnel to separate them and also to act as a nest box for the older hen. This has been working well and she is laying in there. My husband suggested unblocking the tunnel but leaving the cat carrier in the run In the corner until the older hen gets used to going into and using the roost with the other two, or should we just remove it? I will check today with the farm place I got the chick starter food from to see what’s in it, I can also check to see if they can start eating the mash the older laying hen is on. We are in Brisbane so it might be different to the US. They both have a coop cup of separate shell grit. Older hens shells are a little thinner than commercial eggs.

 

[NatJ]

My husband suggested unblocking the tunnel but leaving the cat carrier in the run In the corner until the older hen gets used to going into and using the roost with the other two, or should we just remove it?

Your husband's idea sounds good to me

(And it's easy enough to change your mind and remove it at any point.)