What now?

[jelibn1980]

We put our 6 week olds and 4 week olds together yesterday. We put them straight into the run and sat out with them for about 2 hours watching. A few pecks, but mostly it went fine. No aggression or chasing or anything. After a few hours the youngest went inside the coop and haven't come out since. They have food and water in there. They slept in there last night with the older chicks and did fine. But the youngsters still act scared to death and hide in the coop. Do I need to force them out into the run or leave them be? The older ones come in and out of the coop all day so they go in and interact peacefully. I just feel bad the babies are so scared.

 

[Tonyroo]

Find out what's going on and watch them to figure out there behavior.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

They should be just fine. My teens still do that. It is just a safe area for them, they will come out soon.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

But the youngsters still act scared to death and hide in the coop.

They'll adjust quickly and start following and mingling with the other chicks.. ALL my little's act like that on their first outdoor outings. Give it a few days.

Sometimes I get impatient and force them out.. but it isn't necessary.

Pics always welcome!

 

[3KillerBs]

My young ones always seem to take a few weeks to be willing to come out of the coop into the run (it's a huge coop, 16x16). I think they feel more secure under a roof for a while.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My goal when integrating is that no one gets hurt. That's it. All that one big flock and other stuff can come later. It sounds like no one is getting hurt, a total success so far. If something happens you may need to intervene but as long as it's not broken, don't fix it.

It is not unusual for two groups to stay separated, maybe for a long time, even several months. Or they may merge in the next few days. Let them work it out at their pace, they will.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I agree with previous posters: if no one is getting hurt, then don't worry too much. My goal when I integrated my chickens this summer was to make sure no one was being picked on or acting too aggressively. If the littles have food and water in the coop, then that's great. My coop doesn't have food or water so when I saw them sometimes retreat into the coop and not want to come out, I made the decision to shut the door to the coop for a few days when it was really hot. I didn't want any of them spending too much time in there during the heatwave without food or water. My younger birds ended up just claiming a corner of the run and keeping to themselves over there. Now, everyone moves freely and gets along. It takes a little time, but they do work it all out.