Help me integrate my 2 new chicks!

[Kwest19]

Hey y'all!

I have a little flock of six 4 month old hens, and two 5 week old chicks in my spare room in the brooder. How should I go about integrating?

For reference, my coop is roughly 4'x6' with two roosts and 2 nesting boxes (currently unused). My 6 older gals huddle on one roost all together, only taking up about a 1/4 of the available roost space. The enclosed run is approximately 150 square ft, and I let them out to free range most of the day where they have about an 1/8 of an acre of wooded unkempt land to forage and explore. I also keep my compost piles near there so they have loads of things to occupy them.

Now that the weather is more consistent here in the PNW () I've been putting my youngest two in the run and closing it so the older and younger can look but not touch (the older chicks have access to everything they need outside of the run also, and pretty much never go in there for anything but bedtime anyway).

So my plan is, continuing this exposure for the next week, then see about allowing them contact and roaming together. Then once the nights are warm enough for my youngest chicks (hopefully in the next week or two), I'm going to sneak the youngin's I the coop in the middle of the night when everyone's drowsy and docile, and they'll all wake up together one morning and hopefully be none-the-wiser?


Let me know what your experience has been, if you think this will work, or if you have any other suggestions!!

 

[Kwest19]

Hey y'all!

I have a little flock of six 4 month old hens, and two 5 week old chicks in my spare room in the brooder. How should I go about integrating?

For reference, my coop is roughly 4'x6' with two roosts and 2 nesting boxes (currently unused). My 6 older gals huddle on one roost all together, only taking up about a 1/4 of the available roost space. The enclosed run is approximately 150 square ft, and I let them out to free range most of the day where they have about an 1/8 of an acre of wooded unkempt land to forage and explore. I also keep my compost piles near there so they have loads of things to occupy them.

Now that the weather is more consistent here in the PNW () I've been putting my youngest two in the run and closing it so the older and younger can look but not touch (the older chicks have access to everything they need outside of the run also, and pretty much never go in there for anything but bedtime anyway).

So my plan is, continuing this exposure for the next week, then see about allowing them contact and roaming together. Then once the nights are warm enough for my youngest chicks (hopefully in the next week or two), I'm going to sneak the youngin's I the coop in the middle of the night when everyone's drowsy and docile, and they'll all wake up together one morning and hopefully be none-the-wiser?


Let me know what your experience has been, if you think this will work, or if you have any other suggestions!!

Oh and question #2,

Since my older ladies will be laying earlier, they'll need different feed soon. Is there a way to do that that doesn't require keeping the younger and older in entirely separate living quarters?

 

[lithiachick]

Hi! I’ve integrated several new broods and every transition is different. I tend to use a small dog kennel and put the chicks inside the run, in the crate with food and water and let them all get accustomed to each other for a couple days. Then, I let them out and see what happens. (going back to the inside brooder overnight.) I never had a problem in 10 years, except for this new brood. They are 10 weeks old but still peeping, which I guess adult hens don’t like if not their own. My OE hen has been chasing them quite a bit and keeping them from food and water.(I now have set up food and water stations in two other corners of the run so as they run from anyone, they can still eat and drink!) Last night, I left them in the run to see if they’d go in with the others when it got dark, but they did not, so, I put them in the coop about 9:30 PM and closed the door (usually open 24 hrs a day) so they couldn’t run back out. This morning at 6 AM, I opened the door. Last thing I need is for three new pullets to be locked in the hen house with nowhere to go when the sun comes up and the bullies are awake.
I am sure I will have to do this for the next couple days, at least.
Good luck with yours.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

2 things come to mind. First, I have zero integration issues when I first do "look but dont touch," as you are, with bigs free-ranging. Usually littles prefer to stay close to coop, run and bigs basically couldn't care less about them because they have many acres to explore. SO, keep doing separation to get used to each other and then supervised meet and great while bigs are free ranging is my advice.

Next, I saw that my first flock of 6 was roosting all packed next to each other with roost bar room and thought same as you, oh I could easily put more in there. But you really should consider the recommended space because when they decide to not be so cozy with each other you will see alot of bullying at roost time. You have enough room for 6 right now.... Any chance you can expand the coop a bit?

3 chickens need:
12 square feet in the coop, 30 square feet in the run

I think you'll have no daytime integration issues but that you might have some roosting issues.... Good Luck!!

 

[Kwest19]

2 things come to mind. First, I have zero integration issues when I first do "look but dont touch," as you are, with bigs free-ranging. Usually littles prefer to stay close to coop, run and bigs basically couldn't care less about them because they have many acres to explore. SO, keep doing separation to get used to each other and then supervised meet and great while bigs are free ranging is my advice.

Next, I saw that my first flock of 6 was roosting all packed next to each other with roost bar room and thought same as you, oh I could easily put more in there. But you really should consider the recommended space because when they decide to not be so cozy with each other you will see alot of bullying at roost time. You have enough room for 6 right now.... Any chance you can expand the coop a bit?

3 chickens need:
12 square feet in the coop, 30 square feet in the run

I think you'll have no daytime integration issues but that you might have some roosting issues.... Good Luck!!

Thanks for the reply! Yes we have considered the coop needing to be expanded a bit, which is possible to do. Something I will look into doing sooner than later then

 

[Kwest19]

2 things come to mind. First, I have zero integration issues when I first do "look but dont touch," as you are, with bigs free-ranging. Usually littles prefer to stay close to coop, run and bigs basically couldn't care less about them because they have many acres to explore. SO, keep doing separation to get used to each other and then supervised meet and great while bigs are free ranging is my advice.

Next, I saw that my first flock of 6 was roosting all packed next to each other with roost bar room and thought same as you, oh I could easily put more in there. But you really should consider the recommended space because when they decide to not be so cozy with each other you will see alot of bullying at roost time. You have enough room for 6 right now.... Any chance you can expand the coop a bit?

3 chickens need:
12 square feet in the coop, 30 square feet in the run

I think you'll have no daytime integration issues but that you might have some roosting issues.... Good Luck!!

Do you have any advice on how to split things up when I need to switch my older hens to a layer feed?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I used to wait so long to integrate new chicks that they were close enough to laying to eat layer feed. But now I just don't use layer feed. Instead a feed All Flock, Kambalch 20% and I have a feeder of Oyster shells on the wall. Chickens will eat Oyster shells when they know they need the calcium. The chicks are curious about the OS feeder (its one of those metal corner feeders attached to a stud at adult eating height,) but they don't eat them until it's time.

 

[lithiachick]

Well, what I thought would take a few days was just one overnight lockdown in the coop with the bigger birds. I went out at 2130 to close the coop door last night and saw this! The bigger birds are on the perch you see in the top right corner (above my poop tray.) No more 0600 wake up calls!!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

OH I'm sorry, I got your total number all wrong. I thought you were adding 6 to 6. Sorry. Lookin good.... Just keep an eye on any pecking issues (meaning if the littles get head wounds or anything that would only get worse.)