what age do you put the young hens in with the older ones

[CinnamonQueen]

My pullets can go in the coop... they just have to hide on the shelf w/ the nesting box to avoid getting hurt. And when it's raining, the hens made the pullets go in the run so they could have the shaded part of the coop to themselves. I also have to put food and water on the shelf because the hens don't let the pullets eat/drink.

 

[rosiekitty94]

I hear 8 weeks is the sweet spot and you should put the new additions in overnight while the rest of the flock is sleeping. In the morning, everyone will be so focused on eating, nobody will notice the new arrivals. Anybody else think this would work?

 

[cortner1195]

I hear 8 weeks is the sweet spot and you should put the new additions in overnight while the rest of the flock is sleeping. In the morning, everyone will be so focused on eating, nobody will notice the new arrivals. Anybody else think this would work?

I would worry that your mature birds would react to protect their food. At the very least they wouldn't allow the chicks to eat. Last year my girls became permanent victims, and never again attempted to enter the flock. I gave them away in the end. This year I am trying to be super patient so that the eventual mix is succesful.

My question would be, how do I get the 20 week olds to be willing to leave the grow out pen?

 

[buckaroogirl]

I must be lucky. My girls seem to get along with anyone I put in. Just the occasional you're too close peck.
Putting them inside the run inside their own cage for a while night help the integration. Get to know each other through the wire.

 

[buckaroogirl]

.
I put my chicks in a cage inside the coop. Once I let them out big momma hen took them under her wing.

 

[DeesHens]

I am trying to peacefully mingle my two 12 week olds pullets with my 3 year old hen. I may add she is very spoiled as when her hen pal was killed by a raccoon last year I had to work diligently at her recovery as she almost died from shock. I have a divided paddock and a divided coop for them. The only time there is not a net between them is when I am around until yesterday.

They had been doing great with the net dividers it seemed. Peacefully hung out together frequently next to the net. I thought they should be good so left the gate opened yesterday so they could come and go into one another's spaces.

Well, I had to separate them again as the hen took over their feed station so the kids hung out hiding in the coop run. I gave them some goodies as there is no food or water there for them. So when the 3 yr. old figured it out she came bombing over to kick them out and so began the chase. I realized then what was going on as she would not allow the kids in either feeding areas.

The kids became very distraught and hid behind a carrier in their food station so I had to close the gate and assure them before they would come out. They are afraid of her and stay away from her for the most part. So not sure what to do next. Any thoughts? This is becoming harder than I thought. LOL

~Dee~

 

[Maemujwok]

We have the brooder in the coop (the coop is a giant walk in space with plenty of room) then when they no longer need the lamp, we put the young ones in a fenced off area in the coop until they are big enough to fly over the fencing. Then we crack the door to the fenced area open so little ones can get in and out but big ones can't--that way they can get away if they need to, eventually we just removed the fencing. When we integrated they were half the size of the big ones, but did just fine. The key was making sure they had an area to escape to if needed.

 

[Cknldy]

Lot's of variables. I free range so I have the luxury of lots of room. When my broodies were hatching out I let the adult flock have free range over the entire property too increase separation even more. When they would roll back around to the coop there were a few minor incidents for a few days, but that did not last. I also have another young flock from the hatchery. At present, I have a flock of adults, a flock of 9 weeks olds and a smaller flock of 5 week olds, all together under the same roof and ranging together. No deaths and no injuries. However, the young ones are roosting in the nest boxes, looks like they are telling me that they want their own roost.

Mark

My younger ones ALWAYS roost on the side of the nest box and fill it with poop. My first set of girls tried the same thing until they started laying and actually had a use for the nest boxes. One stayed stubborn until I went down for 3 consecutive nights and moved her to the roost. 3 daughters were introduced when almost momma size- mommas killed the most submissive one although they were in cage in coop for a long time, free ranged together with no problems and 'pretended' to get along when I was around. The other 2 daughters are now accepted, low in the order, and are not allowed to roost by mommas so they still roost on edge of nest box. Daughters are sweetest ever so just waiting for the 'can't poop where the eggs go' signal to kick in

 

[makluvsanimals]

i have 3 fully grown hens and just rescued a chick...she is not tiny...she is getting her sdult feather already
ill show a pic when should i start introducing hem...not putting the chick with the others but when should i start letting them view or see eachother
this is the new one

 

[tammyfarms]

As long as they are separated by a fence, they should be ok. Since she is a rescue, you might want to quarantine though.

Just my thoughts, and I could be wrong, but I am thinking that when and how the adults react depends a lot on breed. I have had breeds that were more aggressive and those that were very docile. One chick escaped from the baby pen into the adult pen and was pecked so badly we had to put it down. I think that if it had gone into the other adult pen with the less aggressive birds it probably would have been fine. Of course, lots of space and places to hide are key and as mentioned earlier the ratio of adults to babies.