Advice on merging flocks

[Agathe]

I have three young birds (hatched in June) that I need to have merged with my existing birds (8 chickens and a rooster) ASAP. They’ve been in enclosures next to each other since the chicks moved out and we’ve let them out in a run together for weeks. It is okay as long as the newcomers keep to themselves, but the problem is that some of our older birds seem to attack them when they get too close. Not just peck them to show them who’s boss, but as if they could end up killing them unless we broke them apart. They gang up on them and jump on top of them. Weather is getting worse and we need them out of the temporary coop. We’ve merged flocks once before and there was pecking and drama, but it went pretty smoothly all the same. As it is I just can’t see them living in the same house.

 

[Sinadrea]

I have 5, hatched in July. When they were 11 weeks old, I put them in the coop when it was completely dark, about 9 or 10 PM. I did this for 3 days and they were pecked at a little but now aren't scared to go in the coop by themselves.

I heard to prevent aggression, add more food and water containers about during the day, maybe do this a day or two before you put them in the coop.

On the first night, be sure to check on them periodically to make sure there are no huge squabbles, but get up before sunrise to check on them when they are leaving the coop.

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

From the age of 2 weeks old I put mine in the run in a separate cage but my chickens are so used to it now that any bird the age of 4 weeks and up just gets thrown in there with a heat lamp at night in my run where nothings flamable and then I lock them up with the others at 8 weeks. So if your birds are almost the same size they’ll be fine if you just throw them in there

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

If your worried about fights usually with adult birds it the older birds will pick on the new commers for about 3 weeks or until the pecking order is back in order, I’ve only had one really mean hen like the way you say your chickens act and she would be really mean to the new ones but in 3 weeks she was fine

 

[Agathe]

From the age of 2 weeks old I put mine in the run in a separate cage but my chickens are so used to it now that any bird the age of 4 weeks and up just gets thrown in there with a heat lamp at night in my run where nothings flamable and then I lock them up with the others at 8 weeks. So if your birds are almost the same size they’ll be fine if you just throw them in there

So there's no chance they can actually kill each other? Two girls are the worst offenders while the other seem to be more cool with things.

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

So there's no chance they can actually kill each other? Two girls are the worst offenders while the other seem to be more cool with things.

They can kill each other but in my experience they just go until the new one stands down and runs away

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is okay as long as the newcomers keep to themselves, but the problem is that some of our older birds seem to attack them when they get too close.

Which begs the question, what does your space look like? Do they have enough room so they can keep a distance. Size, in feet or meters, is important but also how it is laid out. Photos could be really helpful. Can you tell us more about when this occurs? It is a lot easier for me to give specific suggestions if I know what you are dealing with and what you have to work with.

In all my years doing this I've only had three cases where a chicken killed another so it is pretty rare. Two of those were where they killed a sibling, one set 15 weeks old the other 2 weeks old. The other occasion was different ages/levels of maturity. They generally kill by pecking at the head. They can cut a frog into bite-sized pieces with their beaks, they can drill into the head with those beaks.

Each chicken has its own personality, each flock has its own dynamics. These can vary a lot by individual and year by year. Some chickens can be pretty mellow about others while some can go out of their way to bully and attack any they perceive to be weaker. Less mature chickens are weaker in spirit than more mature chickens. Size does not matter, bantams often dominate full sized fowl.

It sounds like you are doing OK outside the coop, it is probably inside that is the issue. I'd suspect that this might have to do with bedtime but I'm guessing. With my flock, my juveniles do not sleep on the main roosts with the adults until the pullets start to lay. Until then they sleep away from the adults. My coop is big enough that they can do that. I personally don't care where mine sleep as long as it is predator proof and is not my nests. A lot of people do not have the flexibility in their facilities that I have. It makes my life easier. My general suggestion is to not force them to be together in tight spaces and give them as much flexibility as you can. For a lot of people that is not easy.

What sometimes helps is if you can identify a ringleader that is leading the attacking try isolating that chicken from the flock for several days to a week. This can knock that chicken out of its spot in the pecking order so when it comes back it is more worried about getting back in the pecking order than attacking others. This does not always work but it has a few times for me.

This one you probably don't want to hear. One of my goals is to hatch eggs and raise them for meat. It is not always easy to decide which ones to keep and which ones to eat. It makes that decision easier when one volunteers. Besides, I do not want to hatch eggs from that chicken. I do not want those aggressive bullying genetics in my flock. I much prefer a peaceful flock.

There are different tricks and methods for integration. I don't know which ones might be possible for you as I don't know what you are working with. People go through integration all of the time, usually successfully. I wish you good luck!

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

All of my ideas have already been shared:

-more space
-more obstacles/visual blocks in the space since younger birds are usually faster and more agile than older birds.
-more feeders/waterers
-remove the most aggressive bird either temporarily or permenantly

It may not be as bad as you think. I have a camera in my run & coop and have noticed that my adult birds are much bigger jerks when I'm out hanging with the flock, but aren't so aggressive toward the youngsters when I'm not there. I think our presence can disrupt the social order either because they think we have treats or they just get excited.

The only other thought I can add is that the first night(s) you have them all in the coop together, I would recomend opening up the coop extra early so there's no chance of them all getting trapped together in a small space once they're awake.

 

[Agathe]

I just wanted to give an update to all of you who’ve been kind enough to reply my post. We ended up just throwing them in there. Kept an eye on them for the first couple of hours. And it went so much better than I thought it would! No fights, some pecking though, and the little ones even went to sleep on the roosts with the others! I had almost given up hope but maybe I’ve just been too cautious.