When to put new baby chicks in with older ones?

[jab91864]

I've seen a flock literally tear a chick apart, once there is blood the frenzy begins.

I normally put newbies in a pen next to the coop or run for a while so they are use to seeing them. Then I try to move the set up inside the run. Even if my flock free ranges they still come back to the coop and run to lay and roost for the night so having the chicks inside the home territory but protected helps get them use to seeing one another.
Once I move them inside the coop I try to rig up something like the pic above, the little ones can get in but the big ones can't. I also leave the original "penned" area out in the run for them to get into to hide if need be. I put food and water in the area designated for hiding as well, just in case.

Once they are roaming around with the flock it's just a matter of keeping an eye out to see who is getting picked on the most and if they are going to survive it. Chickens are brutal. I wouldn't trust the hen that is interested in the babies she probably is thinking of doing damage not mothering. Typically it will all work itself out, the only time it didn't work for me was when I tried to introduce some frizzles that I had hatched out. The flock would not accept them no matter what I did and how long I gave it. Eventually one by one the flock killed them off. I still feel bad about it and it's been a few years past.

Best of luck

 

[LakeBird]

I've seen a flock literally tear a chick apart, once there is blood the frenzy begins.

I normally put newbies in a pen next to the coop or run for a while so they are use to seeing them. Then I try to move the set up inside the run. Even if my flock free ranges they still come back to the coop and run to lay and roost for the night so having the chicks inside the home territory but protected helps get them use to seeing one another.
Once I move them inside the coop I try to rig up something like the pic above, the little ones can get in but the big ones can't. I also leave the original "penned" area out in the run for them to get into to hide if need be. I put food and water in the area designated for hiding as well, just in case.

Once they are roaming around with the flock it's just a matter of keeping an eye out to see who is getting picked on the most and if they are going to survive it. Chickens are brutal. I wouldn't trust the hen that is interested in the babies she probably is thinking of doing damage not mothering. Typically it will all work itself out, the only time it didn't work for me was when I tried to introduce some frizzles that I had hatched out. The flock would not accept them no matter what I did and how long I gave it. Eventually one by one the flock killed them off. I still feel bad about it and it's been a few years past.

Best of luck

I've heard that chickens don't integrate well with frizzles and similar chickens because they look so different. I was thinking about getting a polish frizzle, but worried about the integration.

 

[SherrynBill]

Last year I had 6 tetra tints. When they went outside to a coop I had 6 red comets and 6 white leghorn babies. When they were 5 weeks old I placed them in a chicken house inside the older chickens pen where they could be seen and not touched. When they were about 8 weeks old, I slowly introduced the big girls to the little girls. The older girls were not as curious as I thought they would be. The older girls are still the boss but it did not get bloody or rough.
BUT......this past week we placed 5 Easter eggers and 5 silver laced wydonettes into a pen inside the coop. They are 5 weeks old. The other chickens can see them but not get to them. There is a lot of complaning from the older chickens. One of the red comet blows out her feathers and looks ten times her size. She walks around their cage clucking and then goes and sits in the nesting box where she can watch them. Sometimes when I first open the door she will growl at me but I have no problem talking to her or getting the eggs underneath her. Is her behavior normal?

 

[shannonarcoria]

I think a whole lot has to do with your set-up. A lot of us do different things, sometimes successfully and sometimes people have big problems.

With the ages of yours you have some things to consider. One is territorial. Sometimes chickens will protect their territory from new chickens. Not always, but sometimes. This is where housing them side by side for a while really helps. They get used to the others and accept them as members of the flock.

Another is the pecking order. Bear with me because this will get a bit long. Every chicken in the flock has to know its social position in the flock so the flock can live together peacefully. But reaching this peaceful condition can be pretty violent sometimes. Not always, but often.

Chickens are usually pretty good at recognizing which one is dominant. If they are mature this dominance is determined by spirit a lot more than size. It’s not at all unusual for mature bantams to dominate mature full grown fowl. But a mature bird will always dominate an immature bird. It’s not a case of size but of maturity.

When a less dominant chicken enters the personal space of a more dominant chicken, the more dominant has every right to peck the other to remind it of its proper place in chicken society. Once the pecking order is established and the birds are all mature, this does not happen all that often but it is pretty common when introducing new birds regardless of their age. If the less dominant runs away after that peck, all is good in the flock. If it does not run away, this is a challenge to the pecking order and a fight can occur. This can get pretty serious. They need enough room to get away. If they get trapped in a corner or your coop and run is too small for them to get away, it can really get bad.

Chickens often are brutal bullies. Not all, but a lot are. If they see a weaker chicken, like a younger chicken, they may go out of their way to try to do serious harm. And they can become a mob once it starts. I have broodies raise their chicks with the flock and I integrate brooder raised chicks at about 8 weeks old. The only time I’ve ever lost a chick to this was when a one week old chick found its way into my grow-out run with 8 week olds. It was away from the broodies protection. The 8 week olds quickly killed it when it became trapped against the fence and could not get away. Those 8 week olds were ready to turn loose so they could integrate with the flock. If I had opened the gate a day earlier so Mama dould have gotten in to protect her baby, it would not have happened. But you can't forsee everything.

This is where safe havens really come in handy if you have small birds. Extra space also helps a whole lot. The younger birds will pretty much form their own flock and stay away from the older birds if they have the space. They pretty quickly learn to avoid conflict by keeping their distance or staying out of the way. They will stay in the coop if the adults are in the run; maybe stay on the roosts if the adults are on the coop floor. They might hide under nests or behind something, depending on what options they have. With all our different set-ups there is no one right answer for all of us. Provide as much space and as many options for them to avoid the adults as you can.

Another thing that really helps is to provide different feeding and watering stations so the young ones can eat and drink without having to confront the older birds. Chickens are naturally bullies. They will keep the young ones away from the food and water.

Something I find beneficial is to provide plenty of roost space, preferably separate from the adults. Mine can be real bullies and brutes on the roosts as they are settling in for the night. It’s practically always hens or non-dominant roosters by the way. I’ve never had a dominant rooster harm or threaten a chick at any time. They are living animals and anything can happen. I’m sure somebody somewhere has seen a dominant rooster be a problem, but I have not. I’ve put in a separate roost about a foot lower and away from the main roosts to give the chicks the option of a safer place to sleep.

For my brooder raised chicks I have a grow-out coop for them to sleep when they first start integrating with the older chickens. But if I have a broody raise chickens with the flock, those chicks are taken to the roosts by the broody in the main coop and they learn to sleep up there with the older chickens. They are fine as long as the broody is there to protect them, but once she weans them they are on their own.

I’ve had a broody wean her chicks as young as 3-1/2 weeks and they remained with the main flock. During the day they had plenty of room to avoid the adults but at night they slept in the coop with the adults. It did not take them long to abandon the main roosts and move to a safer place. When they matured they made their way back to the main roosts, but that took months.

A story I like to tell because I think it might help you understand some of this. I’ve often seen a young chick, say two weeks old, being raised with the flock with a broody. That chick will go stand beside the older hens away from Mama’s protection and eat out of the big chickens’ feeder. Sometimes the older hens will ignore that chick, but usually it does not take long for a hen to peck the chick to remind it that it is bad chicken etiquette for it to eat with its social betters. That chick will run peeping and flapping back to Mama. Mama ignores all this. But if the hen that pecked the chick starts to follow it, Mama gets a real bad attitude and teaches that hen the chick is not to be harmed. It is OK to teach it manners but don’t threaten her baby!

I realize your set-up, conditions, and management techniques don’t match mine. We are all different. But hopefully you can get something out of this that will help you plan what to do with your specific unique set-up.

Sometimes integration goes so smoothly you wonder what all the worry was about and sometimes it can turn deadly. Good luck with yours!!

 

[Nat chickenmama]

Thank you for such thorough info. Very helpful....as I have two 2 mos old broody babies and one is an enormous couchin ( already the size of a standard chicken- takes after his/her daddy) and then there's the teeny mini bantam rooster( yes Lila -now Luke started to crow already

) but he's so tiny that I can't risk leaving them with the group yet. However, I have allowed them ( two babies and broody mama) to sleep in the big coop with 4 older hens, our older main rooster, and two young hens. And they are just fine in the morning, but they have manners.
In the smaller coop connected is the other 3young tyrant Roos and 5 young hens, who aren't too keen on the babies so during the day the babies are separated. Just hope everyone can get a long soon because it's a pain to move them twice a day. But worth it of course!

 

[Gypsygirl]

Hi, last night I put my 3 most old chickens with my older birds. They are the same breed Orphingtons. My grown chickens are 1 yr old. Then I have. 2 old girls, they are 13 yrs old and they don't care about the young ones. I know there is a pecking order but can someone tell me when that is over. I feel sorry for my young ones but I know they have to go through this delema. If anyone has a suggestion please let me know. Thank you.

 

[SherrynBill]

The older the chicken the less likely for issues. At least that's my experience. I have some 4 year olds and they are fine with the younger chicks. I have year olds and they are The biggest problem I'm having right now trying to integrate 2 1/2 month olds. I have to stand and reprimand all the chickens that range from 5 months old to 1 1/2 years old that's causing all the ride in the shed. They all think they are queens of the castle and I have 2 chickens that seem too share pecking order. I have to keep the newbies in a separate cage in the shed. I started letting them out but I'm there right now so that there is no bloodshed.

 

[Kevin Hoolahan]

Lots of variables.
Are you feeding them separate, bigger birds will push smaller ones out of the way.
Are you feeding them commercial feed, different feed for different ages.
Are you in a climate you will have to provide heat to chicks even if they have feathers, I live in Canada so its a lot colder here when I get my chicks. Careful not to overheat the coop.
Is the coop 3 feet per bird, overcrowding birds get squished and pecking starts. Old birds beaks are a sharper then younger and without good feather coverage, as soon as they strike blood that chick is a a dead chicken.

 

[FionaD]

thank you Ridgerunner, that’s really helpful as well as an interesting read

 

[Mrs. K]

I think there is a window. When chicks are little, they are quick and they are not much of a threat. You could put them with the big girls now, by sectioning off a corner with a one way gate that chicks can get through, and the big girls cannot. Once the chicks know where the safe zone is, they can explore on their terms, get brave venture out, get scared, escape to safety. I surrounded my safe zone with pallets up on cement blocks, the older birds could get under them, but it serious slowed them down, and the chicks could escape to the safe zone.

I fed and watered my chicks in the safe zone. Have a huddle box and wind protection in there. At first two or three days they stayed pretty close to this arrangement. What I liked about it, is the chickens worked it out without me. When I first put them in it, when they ventured out, I am the one that chased them so they could find it.

Setting up hide outs, multiple feeders, obstacles, multi level platforms all help with integration.

Your little pen is cute, and it would make a perfect safety zone inside your run if you wanted to set it up that way. Put them in there a couple of days with a wind break such as a turned over tote, so as to get some weather protection. Open up a one way gate that is all around the bottom of the crate so as chicks do not get trapped away from their safety spot.

If you wait, then you really need to wait until the chicks are very close to laying. They will not fit in that current set up at that time, you might want to put the 3 chickens in there and let the babies in your big set up due to numbers and size.

Good luck, I found there was much less drama the younger I put them in. But I do have a large run, with numerous hide outs, escape routes, and feed stations.

Mrs K