What should I do for housing, mixed family?

[aart]

I hate to ask such a stupid question but what do you mean by wean.

It's kind of the same as with mammals, sans the milk production, but anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 months a mama chicken will stop 'taking care' of the chicks. She'll want to roost(sleep) with the flock again and start laying eggs again. She may even peck at the chicks to make them stay away from her. With your single adult bird, it's hard to say what will happen at weaning time.

Would the hen be alright when the chick roosters will only be a few months away from being young males?

When the males become sexually mature, around 3-4 months, they will try to dominate and mate with all the females and fight with each other. Mama bird will probably kick their butts, but it's not a pretty time.

 

[minaayindra]

Considering she slammed me in the head with her whole body (some kind of poultry Ninja move behind my back) because I reached for a guinea keet that had fallen off a perch and couldn't get back up, I'd say she is still in mom mode.

 

[minaayindra]

It's kind of the same as with mammals, sans the milk production, but anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 months a mama chicken will stop 'taking care' of the chicks. She'll want to roost(sleep) with the flock again and start laying eggs again. She may even peck at the chicks to make them stay away from her. With your single adult bird, it's hard to say what will happen at weaning time.

When the males become sexually mature, around 3-4 months, they will try to dominate and mate with all the females and fight with each other. Mama bird will probably kick their butts, but it's not a pretty time.

I'm going to remove any roosters with the exception of whomever seems most dominant- I guess that's the right idea.

 

[Chickassan]

Oh jeeze lol! Your integration is beyond anything iv'e ever done, it is not the norm.
I'd let both groups see each other but not attempt to intergrate or seperate anybody until she weans those keets and chick.
You saw what she did to you, she wouldn't hesitate to do the same on your other group right now.
After she weans and everybody has seen everybody else for at least a couple weeks wait until night and put whatever birds you want together in their coops.

I hate to ask such a stupid question but what do you mean by wean. I only know that term in reference to nursing and I'm pretty sure she isn't doing that! So I should start by putting them in the different coop and then introducing the other chicks? I see contradicting articles indicating you either SHOULD let all chicks in at once as soon as they are ready to go and the other resident chickens have gotten used to seeing them, or you SHOULDN'T do that and just introduce a few chicks at a time- what has your experience been?

I read that the roosters WILL get along so I was going to locate their coop backwards from the others. Unfortunately, I guess that means they can't free-range since they are bound to run into the fairer sex in the course of their travels.

 

[Mrs. K]

That many coops really helps. And as (I think) they all have separate runs, that will really help. Because this allows you to separate birds that do not get along.

So, I think I would pull the Keets to one coop, ASAP. That will solve your feed issue. They are more than old enough to be without mama.

I would wait till the Mama forgets her chicks, and then put the single chick with another single chick in one house, and keep them together until they agree to get along, then add another pair, wait again, then put all the chicks together. When you add a lot, it reduces the concentration of picking on a single bird. If you just add your single chick, EVERYONE will know that chick does not belong and try and get their digs in.

After the whole flock of chicks is getting along - I would add the hen to that group. She will probably peck them, but it will be hard to chase them all, and I think she will settle down fairly quickly, but still be queen bee. This will work for a while. But fairly quickly none of those coops will be big enough for 20 head. You can cheat when they are smaller, but eventually you are going to have to either cull some birds (just remove them from your flock, point of lay birds are easy to sell) or split the flock into two groups.

You should also add some clutter to the runs, tipped over boxes, mini walls - scrap pieces of plywood, some roosts, multiple feed stations in the run. Make is much safer and more entertaining for birds. Birds can get out of sight of other birds, important in chicken society.

My ultimate goal would be to have an empty coop, when you are done finagling. Because I think that you are trying to be proactive, but are inexperienced, and I am pretty sure in all those birds, you are going to eventually have some wrecks, and an empty coop, would be of great help.

I am not real sure, but I think keets are going to take a lot of space, and need to free range quite a bit. My grandfather had Guinness to keep the snakes down, and they roosted in the trees, but I have never had them.

Good luck,

Mrs K

 

[minaayindra]

That many coops really helps. And as (I think) they all have separate runs, that will really help. Because this allows you to separate birds that do not get along.

So, I think I would pull the Keets to one coop, ASAP. That will solve your feed issue. They are more than old enough to be without mama.

I would wait till the Mama forgets her chicks, and then put the single chick with another single chick in one house, and keep them together until they agree to get along, then add another pair, wait again, then put all the chicks together. When you add a lot, it reduces the concentration of picking on a single bird. If you just add your single chick, EVERYONE will know that chick does not belong and try and get their digs in.

After the whole flock of chicks is getting along - I would add the hen to that group. She will probably peck them, but it will be hard to chase them all, and I think she will settle down fairly quickly, but still be queen bee. This will work for a while. But fairly quickly none of those coops will be big enough for 20 head. You can cheat when they are smaller, but eventually you are going to have to either cull some birds (just remove them from your flock, point of lay birds are easy to sell) or split the flock into two groups.

You should also add some clutter to the runs, tipped over boxes, mini walls - scrap pieces of plywood, some roosts, multiple feed stations in the run. Make is much safer and more entertaining for birds. Birds can get out of sight of other birds, important in chicken society.

My ultimate goal would be to have an empty coop, when you are done finagling. Because I think that you are trying to be proactive, but are inexperienced, and I am pretty sure in all those birds, you are going to eventually have some wrecks, and an empty coop, would be of great help.

I am not real sure, but I think keets are going to take a lot of space, and need to free range quite a bit. My grandfather had Guinness to keep the snakes down, and they roosted in the trees, but I have never had them.

Good luck,

Mrs K

Wow, thank you for such in-depth advice! I will do everything you suggested but I will have to wait a while because I’m still trying to get sand in for the run that is currently empty. The other coops/runs are being picked up today but won’t be assembled for at least another week or so.

The Guineas rock- they see bugs that no one else could and then get them in a milli-second, even when they are behind the Guineas heads. I am already seeing how protective they are of each other, with a “no man left behind” philosophy. They still love to climb under moms wings and snuggle but I don’t think this will last more than a few more weeks. These guys seem to be extremely independent and they definitely would like to go free range, which they will once they are coop trained to come back at night. I have a lot of snakes and hawks- their alarms will be most helpful for deterring the birds and I don’t put any money on the snakes at all. These 4 seem like they could dispatch anything quickly. After one grabbed my finger thinking it was part of a worm, I guarantee that little beak can shred anything.

I took the 17 chicks outside in a tractor for their first taste of the outdoors. They seemed somewhat shocked by the idea of grass but a few picked at it and one grabbed a bug. This is the difference between having a hen mom and a human one. No doubt they would be little outdoor vacuums if they had the same training the Guineas and lone chick have- instead, they got stuck with a moron mom who doesn’t know how to scratch up and roll in the dirt. Still learning, obviously! As it was, watching me try to safely catch each chick and get it outside was interesting. Where it got really amusing to the chicks was when I realized that I had to get them back in and the tractor was definitely not designed so you could reach into it. Multiple escapees later, they are all back in the brooder, mom is dripping sweat and pulled her back, and I might have traumatized them for life (but I did get their brooder completely cleaned). <sigh>

 

[minaayindra]

That many coops really helps. And as (I think) they all have separate runs, that will really help. Because this allows you to separate birds that do not get along.

So, I think I would pull the Keets to one coop, ASAP. That will solve your feed issue. They are more than old enough to be without mama.

I would wait till the Mama forgets her chicks, and then put the single chick with another single chick in one house, and keep them together until they agree to get along, then add another pair, wait again, then put all the chicks together. When you add a lot, it reduces the concentration of picking on a single bird. If you just add your single chick, EVERYONE will know that chick does not belong and try and get their digs in.

After the whole flock of chicks is getting along - I would add the hen to that group. She will probably peck them, but it will be hard to chase them all, and I think she will settle down fairly quickly, but still be queen bee. This will work for a while. But fairly quickly none of those coops will be big enough for 20 head. You can cheat when they are smaller, but eventually you are going to have to either cull some birds (just remove them from your flock, point of lay birds are easy to sell) or split the flock into two groups.

You should also add some clutter to the runs, tipped over boxes, mini walls - scrap pieces of plywood, some roosts, multiple feed stations in the run. Make is much safer and more entertaining for birds. Birds can get out of sight of other birds, important in chicken society.

My ultimate goal would be to have an empty coop, when you are done finagling. Because I think that you are trying to be proactive, but are inexperienced, and I am pretty sure in all those birds, you are going to eventually have some wrecks, and an empty coop, would be of great help.

I am not real sure, but I think keets are going to take a lot of space, and need to free range quite a bit. My grandfather had Guinness to keep the snakes down, and they roosted in the trees, but I have never had them.

Good luck,

Mrs K

 

[minaayindra]

Oh jeeze lol! Your integration is beyond anything iv'e ever done, it is not the norm.
I'd let both groups see each other but not attempt to intergrate or seperate anybody until she weans those keets and chick.
You saw what she did to you, she wouldn't hesitate to do the same on your other group right now.
After she weans and everybody has seen everybody else for at least a couple weeks wait until night and put whatever birds you want together in their coops.

That’s funny, I’ve heard the “not the norm” description applied to me many times in life! lol I think I will try the intros with a few birds at a time but I’m going to do it slowly in a coop/run immediately adjacent to the guinea run. That should allow them to at least have listened to the others and perhaps see them before combining. The Guineas won’t be going anywhere of course- try and make them, it would turn into Keystone Cops material.
Thanks so much... I will definitely use your advice.

 

[Mrs. K]

An easy way to handle chicks is to put a box on its side with a little bedding in it. At near dark, all of the chicks should be huddled together in the box. Pick up box and put it where you want. Way easier than chasing them.

 

[minaayindra]

An easy way to handle chicks is to put a box on its side with a little bedding in it. At near dark, all of the chicks should be huddled together in the box. Pick up box and put it where you want. Way easier than chasing them.

The problem is I have to get them out in the early afternoon- I don’t think I’m going to fool them with that one. They can definitely outrun me!