Chicks in the coop with older hens

[Lrnadoon]

You understand that at 5 weeks your chicks are too old to introduce to a broody hen, right? But it's good to know if you get a broody hen at some point, then you can offer her some day-old chicks to raise. Good luck with your integration!

Yes I understand that! Maybe we will have a broody hen some day!

 

[Lrnadoon]

How big (in feet or meters) is your coop? How big (in feet or meters) are the two runs? Just because it feels huge to you doesn't mean it is big enough for the chickens. How much room you have makes a huge difference in integration.

Where are you in general. My interest is in what your weather is like where you are. At five weeks old your chicks may well be ready to move outside now. Most chicks are fully feathered by that age and able to handle the weather but if you are having extremes in cold or wet that could affect it.

With my chicks they typically avoid the adults until the pullets start to lay. Until then I essentially have two separate flocks. During the day they stay where the adults are not. At night they do not sleep on the same roosts with the adults but stay away. I have an 8 feet x 12 feet coop and over 2,000 square feet outside. They have enough room to avoid the adults which makes integration a lot easier.

People with a lot less room go through integration all of the time, usually successfully. There are tricks we use to take advantage of what room we have. But I need to know what you have to work with to see what I might suggest.

My brooder is in the coop. Mine go in there straight out of the incubator or from the post office. Weather permitting, when mine are five weeks old I open the brooder and let them make their way with the flock. My integration is that easy. They were raised with the flock and they have room to avoid the adults. They know to return to the coop at night, since they were raised in there.

If your weather is OK and your coop is big enough, I'd suggest building a brooder in the coop and keeping them in there for a week before you let them out. You've already started the "look but don't touch" so this might be pretty easy. But what conditions are you working with?

My idea of a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. That's all. All the eating and roosting together and hanging together can come later when they nature more. As long as no one gets hurt, life is good.

So we have an 'Open concept" coop. We have a coop that is open to our run - meaning there is no wall or door into the original coop. The older girls sleep in that old coop. We turned our run into a large coop due to getting all these chicks. We have put in roosting bars and a ladder like area for the new girls to sleep in. Essentially the littles will probably sleep in the bigger side of the coop and I am assuming the older girls will keep sleeping where they always have in the old coop that has been converted into the run. The old coop is 4x4 and the new coop is 8x16. The new roost's that we put in are up high and have platform underneath to catch all the poops. We live in No Texas so the days are getting warmer etc... last summer was so brutal with the heat the open concept coop is going to help for sure. We have removable plexiglass windows for when the weather gets bad. I just keep reading that I shouldn't introduce them until they are closer to 8 weeks. Believe me, this back and forth everyday to the run and then the house is getting old. The run that the littles are temporarily in is 6x8 and then are large area is about 1/4 of an acre fenced with a ton of cedar tree's and umbrella's for coverage from the hawks and owls. I used to free range on the 5 acres that we have but the hawks kept getting my sweet ladies. I posted a few pics in case my open concept explanation didn't make sense.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I just keep reading that I shouldn't introduce them until they are closer to 8 weeks.

I've had some broody hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks while others did not wean their chicks until closer to three months. I regularly have my brooder-raised chicks roaming in the run and sleeping in the coop at 5 weeks. Some people do that at 4 weeks, some wait until the pullets are laying eggs. Some use 8 weeks. We are all over the place on this. There is no one age that works for all of us. Our set-ups, experiences, and reading all vary so what we do varies.

I'll remind you of my desire on integration. No one gets hurt. To me it doesn't matter how they interact with each other or if they avoid each other as long as no one gets hurt.

The run that the littles are temporarily in is 6x8

Is it predator safe? Would you be comfortable leaving them in it all night if they had a way to get out of the rain? At 5 weeks old in North Texas this time of the year they should be OK there weatherwise with no heating. So that may be one option.

Since you want them to eventually sleep in one area can you build a temporary predator-proof shelter in that immediate area and leave them in it for a week? Then let them loose. They should return to that area to sleep at night. It may not be on the roosts you want them to use. Mine often wait util they are 10 to 12 weeks old before they move to the roosts to sleep. Until then they sleep on the coop floor.

It sounds like you have a lot of room. I don't expect you to have a lot of problems with integration as long as you take advantage of that room. The problem may be where they sleep.

 

[Lrnadoon]

I've had some broody hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks while others did not wean their chicks until closer to three months. I regularly have my brooder-raised chicks roaming in the run and sleeping in the coop at 5 weeks. Some people do that at 4 weeks, some wait until the pullets are laying eggs. Some use 8 weeks. We are all over the place on this. There is no one age that works for all of us. Our set-ups, experiences, and reading all vary so what we do varies.

I'll remind you of my desire on integration. No one gets hurt. To me it doesn't matter how they interact with each other or if they avoid each other as long as no one gets hurt.


Is it predator safe? Would you be comfortable leaving them in it all night if they had a way to get out of the rain? At 5 weeks old in North Texas this time of the year they should be OK there weatherwise with no heating. So that may be one option.

Since you want them to eventually sleep in one area can you build a temporary predator-proof shelter in that immediate area and leave them in it for a week? Then let them loose. They should return to that area to sleep at night. It may not be on the roosts you want them to use. Mine often wait util they are 10 to 12 weeks old before they move to the roosts to sleep. Until then they sleep on the coop floor.

It sounds like you have a lot of room. I don't expect you to have a lot of problems with integration as long as you take advantage of that room. The problem may be where they sleep.

That run is not predator proof. I feel comfortable with it during the day because my chicken area is close to the house and I have dogs. I may start locking them in the coop after I know the big girls have finished laying. I may be able to figure out some type of fencing to keep them in an area in the coop as well. I have a lot of extra chicken fencing. Really appreciate you helping to sort this all out!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I will probably take your advice and at 8 weeks let them all roam the big run during the day and then just make sure everyone is making it into the coop at night. Thanks so much for your feedback!

Just to clarify my advice is to NOT wait until 8 weeks. I think since you got slightly differing advice from different people it got confusing. I integrate very early (ideally done at 4 weeks) so size does matter, because if you wait until 8 weeks to let them mingle you don't have the option of using small openings (chick doors) meant to exclude adults.

If using openings like that wasn't in the plan then your best bet is probably cluttering up the area where the 2 groups meet to break up the area as much as possible. They won't have a completely safe "home base" to use but at least can run for cover.