When should I put my flock together?

[tranel4]

I have 6 15 week old chickens and 6 15 week old ducks they live great together. I also have 6 8 week old chickens that have been living in the same coop but separated. They can see each other day and night. My question is when should I put them together?

 

[GitaBooks]

Sometimes "teen" chickens can be bullies, but if they have grown up seeing one another, I think they should be fine. As long as the young chicks are fully feathered, they can be protected from any pecks given during the establishment of the pecking order.
Some pecking is okay but you don't want attacking or chasing.

I would suggest introducing them during a calm moment, when they aren't hungry but are eating, so they are distracted. Let them in together and watch them a little while. If they ignore one another, they should be fine.

Best of luck!

 

[tranel4]

Thank you this is very helpful.

 

[aart]

Here's some notes I've taken on integration that I found to be very helpful.......
......take what applies or might help and ignore the rest.
See if any of them, or the links provided at the bottom, might offer some tips that will assist you in your situation:

Integration of new chickens into flock.

Consider medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article
Poultry Biosecurity
BYC 'medical quarantine' search

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact. Integrating new birds of equal size works best.

For smaller chicks I used a large wire dog crate right in the coop for the smallers. I removed the crate door and put up a piece of wire fencing over the opening and bent up one corner just enough for the smallers to fit thru but the biggers could not. Feed and water inside the crate for the smallers. Make sure the smallers know how to get in and out of the crate opening before exposing them to the olders. this worked out great for me, by the time the crate was too small for the them to roost in there(about 3 weeks), they had pretty much integrated themselves to the olders.

If you have too many smallers to fit in a crate you can partition off part of the coop with a wire wall and make the same openings for smallers escape.


The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide out of line of sight and/or up and away from any bully birds.

Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[tranel4]

I kept the smaller chicks in my basement for about five weeks then for a week I would take them outside in the run during the day in a crate separated from my older girls but so they could see each other and back to the basement at night. Then for about 2 weeks now they have been living in the coop but in a box made of chicken wire and 2x4s so that my older chicks have seen and been with them but can't get to them.

 

[tranel4]

I'm unsure if I should keep doing what I'm doing for awhile longer or start putting them together briefly each day.

 

[GitaBooks]

Sounds like you are doing things just right!

Once they are introduced, unless there is fighting, they can stay together. Separating them again may just cause problems. Make sure the intro is calm and that the other chickens are distracted, perhaps by some food, so they aren't feeling territorial. Keep an eye on them to make sure there is no fighting.

Best of luck!

 

[azygous]

There are ways to modify the crate door with hardware cloth to create a small entrance into it from the run that only the chicks can fit through. This ensures a safe area for the chicks to retreat to where they are safe from the bigger ones. After they learn how to handle themselves, you can then remove their safe haven.

 

[tranel4]

I'm going to give that a try now. Thanks