Inverse Introductions

[Kalobis]

We hatched 13 straight run barnyard mixes about 7-8 weeks ago.

My wife was hesitant at first but came around and wants silkies. We were planning to wait, but a friend of a friends older parent had a stroke, are downsizing and they can’t keep chickens anymore.

I now have three 8 month old silkie hens in a brooder separated for quarantine. Treated with DE, observing them and their poop for disease, etc.

However, when it’s time to introduce I’m curious about how to do that. I’ve read lots of posts and threads about introducing adult hens to an adult flock and new chicks to an adult flock. What about adding adult hens to a juvenile flock? I was planning to fence off a little area adjacent to their run so they can meet through the fence, then plop them in the cuddle puddle one night.

Are they any special considerations considering it’s a slightly different scenario?

 

[CHlCKEN]

We hatched 13 straight run barnyard mixes about 7-8 weeks ago.

My wife was hesitant at first but came around and wants silkies. We were planning to wait, but a friend of a friends older parent had a stroke, are downsizing and they can’t keep chickens anymore.

I now have three 8 month old silkie hens in a brooder separated for quarantine. Treated with DE, observing them and their poop for disease, etc.

However, when it’s time to introduce I’m curious about how to do that. I’ve read lots of posts and threads about introducing adult hens to an adult flock and new chicks to an adult flock. What about adding adult hens to a juvenile flock? I was planning to fence off a little area adjacent to their run so they can meet through the fence, then plop them in the cuddle puddle one night.

Are they any special considerations considering it’s a slightly different scenario?

Don't use DE, its useless and dangerous.

Your situation isn't as different as you think, and it's going to be pretty much the same especially if the Silkies are already an established flock with a pecking order. It doesn't matter that its reversed, it's the same process.

What does your run look like? I usually set up a partition in mine, separating the young birds from my adult hens while still allowing them to interact visually and vocally. It's a cheap and easy set up with an extra portable dog fence and some scrap wire.

I recently let my young birds (also 8 weeks) into the adults' side of the run for a few minutes just to see how they would interact. As expected, the established flock made sure to show that they were in charge. Lots of pecking and some bullying. If you do this be sure you supervise them, and keep it short. It's a good way to help them integrate once they've had a wall between them for a little while. I don't believe that putting them together suddenly one day is best. Let them get used to sharing space and begin to understand the pecking order a few times briefly before they become a part of it permanently. DON'T put them together for good until they've gotten close in size. Otherwise they'll just get bullied and won't be able to defend themselves. Don't let them get too big though since Silkies are a bantam breed and will be outgrown pretty quickly, in which case the bullying roles may reverse.

ETA: Your South Park avatar is great

 

[Ridgerunner]

How big, in feet or meters, are your coop and run. Photos of what they look like inside the coop and from the outside could be very helpful. You show you are in Nova Scotia. Yours are old enough to handle the weather anyway so that should not be a concern. Where do you plan for them to sleep while they are in that new pen?

Basically it is no different than other integrations. Some people do what you propose and are successful, but sometimes it is a disaster. I prefer a different approach. House them side by side for a week or more, then let them mingle during the day but return to wherever they are sleeping at night. After they have shown that they can coexist in the run together I try moving them inside the coop.

I don't try to force them to sleep together. Mine won't until the chicks start laying. I don't put them in the cuddle puddle or on the roosts. I toss them in on the coop floor after it is too dark for the older to hurt the younger and make sure I am out there at daybreak to see how it is going. They will sort out where they sleep without any help from me.

I do not believe in that same size thing at all. It has nothing to do with their interactions. What is important is level of maturity. A more mature bird will dominate a less mature bird regardless of size. Once they reach an equivalent maturity level (when the pullets start to lay) then the spirit or personality of the birds will determine how they interact. It is not unusual for bantams to dominate full sized fowl.

 

[Kalobis]

This is great advice, thanks!

My coop is 8x4, and the attached run is 8x16. They are only in the coop to sleep though. Out of the 13 straight run, we won’t be keeping roosters, so our flock will be shrinking in the coming weeks/months.

I can divide the run easily to let them interact with one another without drama, after their quarantine. And we are on a few acres so I could let them free range supervised during the day, and go back to their respective places to sleep.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That would be tight for 16 mature chickens but chicks don't take as much room. Removing the boys is a good idea but with straight run you never know how many of either sex you will get. It's not that unusual for me to have 2/3 or even 3/4 of the same sex. And that could be either sex. I once had 7 girls out of 7 straight run. I'd have been happy with a couple of boys but not that bunch. Good luck with your ratio.

It will be tight for integration, they don't have much room to avoid the older ones. I'd keep a close eye on their behaviors and have a plan in case you need to quickly separate them. Occasionally free ranging them doesn't help that much. They are still locked in the coop/run part of the time so that extra room is not a;ways available.

 

[Kalobis]

I know it's a bit tight for now, but our plan is to always sit between 8-10 laying hens, no roosters. I suspect I have 6 hens and 7 roosters among the chicks (plus three silkies shortly), and will be giving the roosters away once we know for sure.

The silkies will be quarantined for a month, and we may be able to start identifying/removing roosters around the time I start to integrate, as the chicks will be 12-13 weeks old by then.