Integrating 2 flocks not going well

[Lplourde1]

I have an existing flock of 4 Black Copper Marans hens. The youngest ones are 6 now. We were offered another small flock of 3 who are less than 2. I haven't integrated flocks since my 6 year Olds were pullets and thought "How hard can it be?". Ha!

When my husband arrived to grab the new chickens, there were 4 and 2 were roosters.He took them all anyway. They are mixed breeds and are really sweet together. Even though it is two males with only two girls the girls look healthy and not like they've been relentlessly assaulted. They seem really well bonded.

We divided out our large run and put the new birds in a section with their own house, water, and food. However on the second day, one of the roosters broke out into the other section and scared the birds into the bird bath (I call it the west wing because it's off a different side of their hen house). I decided to leave him and see what they do. Then the second male got out. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep them in so I just let them all out. I've read conflicting things about flock integration. Some advise to just plopp them all together and some to keep them separate for a bit.

As you can imagine, it isn't going well. My timid original flock is not defending its territory and instead had been relegated to existing in the west wing and coop. This morning, the males started going into the coop and chasing the girls out of it. The new flock will not let my old girls eat and are guarding the waterers.

We are in the 3rd day now. I may just be too sensitive for this and am unsure if this is just how they do it and things will settle down. Or, will my original flock always be prisoners in their own house?

My husband has suggested either culling the roosters or resegregating for a while. We'd create a better divider this time and make sure that they can't get through. But then, how long should they be kept like that? I'd hate to cull the roosters. Rehoming them would be difficult (we've tried before - noone wants roosters!) and I hate the idea that they'd have to die before they've really even been given a fair chance. So I'd really like to try something else before culling.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Yardmom]

It hasn't been very long, they didn't get much see don't touch time, and you have males involved.
Obviously you could separate again, but there are other things you could try since they are already together. How much space do they have? Do you have multiple food and water stations? Add some more. Do you have clutter and sight line dividers? Make sure chickens can't see from one feeder to the next. Expect your older birds to not want the boys by them, and expect it to take several weeks for them to work out a pecking order.

 

[Finnie]

What she said, lol.

Also, as far as culling the boys, I agree with you to give them more time. And while you do that, list them on Craigslist or FB poultry groups. You say no one wants boys, but if you wait patiently, you will be surprised that eventually someone will want them.

Sure, some of the people will want them for eating. That’s a perfectly good use for excess male chickens. But there are also many folks who want a rooster in their flock. It’s just a matter of waiting a while and renewing the CL ad every few days, and eventually the right person will see your ad and voila! Rooster sold!

Just list your least favorite first, and then once he’s gone, watch and wait to see if the whole flock is happier with just one rooster. Then maybe you can keep that one. One rooster leaving can make a world of difference in the flock dynamics. On that note, perhaps you could consider dividing the roosters away from the females and see how it works integrating just the hens together.

 

[Lplourde1]

It hasn't been very long, they didn't get much see don't touch time, and you have males involved.
Obviously you could separate again, but there are other things you could try since they are already together. How much space do they have? Do you have multiple food and water stations? Add some more. Do you have clutter and sight line dividers? Make sure chickens can't see from one feeder to the next. Expect your older birds to not want the boys by them, and expect it to take several weeks for them to work out a pecking order.

Thank you for your reply! The run is about 10×16 not including the original coop (4x4) or the west wing (which is only 4×4). We currently have several water/feed places. I love the idea of blocking the view between feed places and we'll definitely do that along with adding some more feed/water areas.

And we'll wait. My farmer friend would be mortified about how difficult this is for me. Lol!

 

[Lplourde1]

What she said, lol.

Also, as far as culling the boys, I agree with you to give them more time. And while you do that, list them on Craigslist or FB poultry groups. You say no one wants boys, but if you wait patiently, you will be surprised that eventually someone will want them.

Sure, some of the people will want them for eating. That’s a perfectly good use for excess male chickens. But there are also many folks who want a rooster in their flock. It’s just a matter of waiting a while and renewing the CL ad every few days, and eventually the right person will see your ad and voila! Rooster sold!

Just list your least favorite first, and then once he’s gone, watch and wait to see if the whole flock is happier with just one rooster. Then maybe you can keep that one. One rooster leaving can make a world of difference in the flock dynamics. On that note, perhaps you could consider dividing the roosters away from the females and see how it works integrating just the hens together.

Thank you for that and for the encouragement about the possibility of rehoming. We'll start figuring out a potential next place for them now so that after a few weeks if there seems to be no hope we can rehome. I do like your idea of just removing one and see how the flock adjusts. Right now I just love them both. They are super good boys to each other and to their own girls. They've both been very sweet to me. I'm guessing if we go that route, we'll have to pick the one that is hardest on our original flock. Or the one that shows his true colors first after getting comfortable in a few weeks. Ha ha!

 

[Mrs. K]

Pallets work great, it will seem more cluttered to you, but if it is rather difficult to walk around, that is best! Add just clutter, things they can get on top of, get underneath, get behind and out of sight will help a great deal. Adding roosts in the run is also important, mine love to bask in the late afternoon sunshine up there.

I also have two wind blocks in my run, set up against the prevailing wind. My birds are often in them on blustery days.

As for wishing and hoping you can keep both roosters. A year ago, I had about 10 hens, and two juvenile cockerels. I never planned to keep both of them, but they were really not big enough to butcher, and I waited. A friend of mine, lost a rooster, so I gave them one.

Thing is, the tension in the flock, that I had noticed but did not think was bad, dropped immensely by pulling out that extra rooster. Too many roosters cause a lot of tension in the flock, even if the birds are not relentlessly being mated and the boys are not fighting. I would not recommend 2 roosters with less than 25 head flock. I know some people do pull it off, but I think it would be better with less.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

The run is about 10×16 not including the original coop (4x4) or the west wing (which is only 4×4).

I'm a bit confused here, maybe post some pics?
The only enclosed coop is 4 x 4'?
The "west wing" is just an extra run?