Adding juvenile chickens to an existing flock

[Starganderfish]

We recently bought a house with a fairly palatial coop and a small flock. One rooster and four older chickens. I don't know their ages but we get one, at most two eggs a day, some days none at all. Previous owners stated they were elderly and not laying much anymore so this is expected. The rooster seems pretty attentive and responsible, firm but no aggression.
The coop is large and can be separated into two separate setups, that are side by side (green and yellow below). Each has a semi-enclosed sheltered roosting area, an enclosed/covered open area and a larger open roofed run. Only the green roost has nesting boxes (four).
2 weeks ago I purchased six new, 12 week-old, juvenile hens to add to the flock. I've separated them out, leaving the older flock in their preferred coop (the green "main coop") (where their sleeping perches and nesting boxes are) and put the new hens in the other yellow coop. They have separate food and water, there's separate roosting areas and separate runs. The two enclosures are separated by a common chicken wire wall so they can come right up and see each other etc but they are fully separated. The juvies are now 14 weeks and have been putting on weight, getting friendly with the kids and I, and curious about their elderly neighbours. The old biddies are also curious and the two groups often cluster up against the common wall, though not usually at the same time (The juveniles stay out of reach of the older chickens and get pecked if they wander too close)
How long should I leave them separated and what process should I follow to integrate them?
We also have an even larger open enclosure where our raised garden beds are (orange), on the other side of the "main coop" and there's a hatch that lets me release the elderly flock into this area to free range a bit during the day. Should I move the older flock into the orange free-range garden enclosure and then let the juveniles into the green "main coop" for a few hours to explore and acclimatise, then move them back into their yellow coop before returning the old ladies to the green "main coop"? Kind of test the waters, let the juveniles explore the "main coop" and see how the old ladies react to them being in there. Do this for a few days and gauge territorial reactions. Then maybe repeat with the old ladies in their unroofed run and let the juveniles explore the green roost/nesting area. Basically move the two groups around the various areas and get them used to the idea of being in different sections of the coops.There's no rush, the current situation is pretty sustainable but eventually, they will need to co-exist.
And at what point do I bite the bullet and just let the two flocks mingle? Several of the younger juveniles are looking like they'll grow up pretty big, maybe larger than the old biddies, but two at least are still kind of small and will probably be at the bottom of the pecking order. How do I manage the smaller juvies so they don't get decimated?

 

[Yardmom]

It sounds like you have a great set up. You are definitely on the right track to merging the flocks. It is up to you when you want to allow the birds to have contact as they already have had a couple weeks of see no touch. When you do merge them, make sure to have a few sight line breakers for birds to hide behind while they work out the pecking order.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Should I move the older flock into the orange free-range garden enclosure and then let the juveniles into the green "main coop" for a few hours to explore and acclimatise, then move them back into their yellow coop before returning the old ladies to the green "main coop"?

Yes this is a very good idea! It will let the youngsters get familiar with the space and build a little confidence.

The reduced eggs may also be due to breed genetics as much as it is age. Many breeds will only lay 3-4 eggs per week. The older ones may also start to molt around fall as daylight hours diminish during which they will lay no eggs and put all the energy into growing new feathers.

 

[Starganderfish]

Yes this is a very good idea! It will let the youngsters get familiar with the space and build a little confidence.

The reduced eggs may also be due to breed genetics as much as it is age. Many breeds will only lay 3-4 eggs per week. The older ones may also start to molt around fall as daylight hours diminish during which they will lay no eggs and put all the energy into growing new feathers.

I believe the older hens are Australorps which are pretty good layers and I'm pretty sure it's the same two hens doing most of the laying - it's typically one very small light coloured egg or one very large darker tan egg, and very rarely we get a third mid-size cream coloured egg. The consistency in shell colour and size makes me suspect it's the same hens laying them every couple of days.
The first week we were here we did get 4 eggs in one day, but one of them was a tiny fairy egg, which can often be another indicator of aging birds.
We're averaging one egg a day, very rarely a 2nd.
With four hens laying I'd be expecting more than the 7 or 8 eggs we get in a week.
Also, we're in early spring here and the days are getting longer and warming up. I'd expect laying to be on the increase not diminishing.

 

[Starganderfish]

Thanks for the advice everyon. Its a long weekend this weekend and I'm around the whole time so I might do some shuffling of the birds around the different pens and see how they react. If that goes well I can look to open the gates on Monday and see what happens. If not, leave it for another week

 

[Ridgerunner]

Fantastic set-up for this. Looks like it was built specifically for integration with that chicken wire separation. More out of curiosity than any connection to my response, what are the approximate sizes? If it is anywhere close to in-proportion it should be plenty big enough but enough room is important. Are the doors drawn correctly? It looks like the only way into the yellow run from the yellow coop is through the green coop.

14 week old pullets and a mature flock of a rooster and four hens. Age doesn't matter as long as they are mature. You have all pullets, no cockerels, which helps. They have been side by side for two weeks across chicken wire.

Each chicken is an individual and each flock has its own dynamics. When it comes to behaviors you don't get guarantees. The way I approach similar situations is to let the adults outside in the morning and open the door to the juveniles. My adults tend to spend all day outside or their coop, only coming in to lay. So the adults are generally outside. My juveniles sometimes are all out of their enclosure and in the adults area within 15 minutes. Sometimes the last juveniles do not leave their area until the third day. I've had an adult go into the juveniles' area, they clear out immediately. They are pretty inconsistent about this.

My brooder is in the coop so the chicks are raised with the flock, not brought in later like yours. Sometimes I open that brooder door at 5 weeks of age. Sometimes I move the chicks to a grow-out coop and do not open the doors until they are 8 weeks of age. Like you I have a lot of room outside of the coop and run. Your area really looks nice to me.

I've never had a problem doing this. The chicks do not mingle with the adults. If they try they are likely to get pecked so they very quickly learn to be terrified of the adults and avoid them. Once the pullets start laying they merge into the pecking order. Until then I have generally two different flocks. I do not force them to sleep on the same roosts but let them sleep wherever they want as long as it is predator safe and not in my nests. They will work that out when they mature enough.

Others have different results, you may also. But I suggest the simplest way to see if it works for you while you can be around to observe.

Good luck!

 

[Starganderfish]

Fantastic set-up for this. Looks like it was built specifically for integration with that chicken wire separation. More out of curiosity than any connection to my response, what are the approximate sizes? If it is anywhere close to in-proportion it should be plenty big enough but enough room is important. Are the doors drawn correctly? It looks like the only way into the yellow run from the yellow coop is through the green coop.

14 week old pullets and a mature flock of a rooster and four hens. Age doesn't matter as long as they are mature. You have all pullets, no cockerels, which helps. They have been side by side for two weeks across chicken wire.

Each chicken is an individual and each flock has its own dynamics. When it comes to behaviors you don't get guarantees. The way I approach similar situations is to let the adults outside in the morning and open the door to the juveniles. My adults tend to spend all day outside or their coop, only coming in to lay. So the adults are generally outside. My juveniles sometimes are all out of their enclosure and in the adults area within 15 minutes. Sometimes the last juveniles do not leave their area until the third day. I've had an adult go into the juveniles' area, they clear out immediately. They are pretty inconsistent about this.

My brooder is in the coop so the chicks are raised with the flock, not brought in later like yours. Sometimes I open that brooder door at 5 weeks of age. Sometimes I move the chicks to a grow-out coop and do not open the doors until they are 8 weeks of age. Like you I have a lot of room outside of the coop and run. Your area really looks nice to me.

I've never had a problem doing this. The chicks do not mingle with the adults. If they try they are likely to get pecked so they very quickly learn to be terrified of the adults and avoid them. Once the pullets start laying they merge into the pecking order. Until then I have generally two different flocks. I do not force them to sleep on the same roosts but let them sleep wherever they want as long as it is predator safe and not in my nests. They will work that out when they mature enough.

Others have different results, you may also. But I suggest the simplest way to see if it works for you while you can be around to observe.

Good luck!

Cheers. The doors are correct so the only way into the second open run is through the green area. I’ve got that one closed off at the moment to let some clover and plants grow out for them so it’s not a big deal. The covered yellow area is pretty large.
Both roosting areas are each around 2mx3m. The covered yellow area is about 4mx4m. The covered green area is more of a passageway about 1m x 4m. The two open runs in the back are each about 4m x 8m.
The garden bed area is probably 8mx 20m but they only go in there on occasion. It’s not a permanent part of the run.
Lots of room and if I had all the doors open and all the areas accessible as a single large run it would be massive and accommodate a lot more chickens.
I’ve got the old hens in the green open run today and have let the juveniles have free run of the green roost area as well as their own yellow run. Everyone seems fine, the juveniles aren’t super interested in the new area yet.

 

[Starganderfish]

I succesfully mingled the flocks on Sunday. Did it at feeding time so everyone was distracted by food. Opened all the internal doors so they had loads of room to roam. Things went well. A little bit of pecking and bossing around but nothing too violent.
There's still two distinct flocks but any pecking or shoving is clearly more "get out of the way I'm bigger than you" rather than "I hate you and want to kill you".
The two largest of the juveniles are already almost as large as the rooster and as big as the smallest old hens, so they aren't too phased. One is already helping herself to the adult's food!! Saw the rooster pecking her repeatedly as she had her head buried in the adult's food trough and the juvie didn't even twitch!! LOL
On our third day and I'm tentatively calling it successful. I think once the newbies start laying they'll slot into the pecking order pretty quickly. My only thought now is that the largest of the old hens is a bit full of herself and likes to push the others around, but two of the juvies are almost certainly going to outgrow her pretty quick. She's going to be in for a rude shock when they start asserting their own dominance!!
Thanks for all the help