Merging chickens

[melba1012]

I currently have six chickens that are a year old and three babies that are five months. We extended our coop to make more room. We had the babies next to them in the coop so they could get used to seeing each other. Put them together. It was a disaster. The older chickens were bullying. The younger ones for two days. I took them back out put them next to them again. What is the best way to merge them without Having this serious bully problem. During the day? At night? When should we put the checks in there and should I just let them go and see what happens? I’m not sure what to do but I feel bad for the babies. Thank you for all the advice.

 

[aart]

We had the babies next to them in the coop so they could get used to seeing each other.

How long did you do this?
Dimensions and pics of coop and run would help immensely here.

5 months old are hardly chicks anymore, they should be closed to laying, eh?

 

[Ridgerunner]

We extended our coop to make more room.

Agree. Knowing the size and layout of your coop and run would be extremely helpful in coming up with suggestions. Are they all female or do you have some boys? Do yours free range? Are the younger ones laying yet? Trying to figure out what you are working with.

We had the babies next to them in the coop so they could get used to seeing each other. Put them together. It was a disaster. The older chickens were bullying. The younger ones for two days.

What did the bullying look like? An occasional peck or an attack with intent to harm? Was it all six older ones or just one or two? All three young ones or just one or two? Was it only in the coop or out in the run? Did any get injured? Were the older going out of their way to attack the younger or was it more when they happened to get close together?

People do this all of the time. If they made it two days this may not be as bad as you think. If they were together two days where did they sleep at night? The better we know what you are working with and what is happening the better the chances of us being able to offer advice that applies to your situation.

 

[melba1012]

Agree. Knowing the size and layout of your coop and run would be extremely helpful in coming up with suggestions. Are they all female or do you have some boys? Do yours free range? Are the younger ones laying yet? Trying to figure out what you are working with.


What did the bullying look like? An occasional peck or an attack with intent to harm? Was it all six older ones or just one or two? All three young ones or just one or two? Was it only in the coop or out in the run? Did any get injured? Were the older going out of their way to attack the younger or was it more when they happened to get close together?

People do this all of the time. If they made it two days this may not be as bad as you think. If they were together two days where did they sleep at night? The better we know what you are working with and what is happening the better the chances of us being able to offer advice that applies to your situation.

I have them in a cage next to the coop so they all see each other for about 2 weeks. We put the “new” 3 in the coop at night when they were all asleep. A few of. My friends did that and worked perfectly the only problem I have is my 6 just perch at night and don’t go inside the coop. They attacked them all day. The babies would t come out of the coop all day. My husband put water inside so they can drink and the food was in there but I’m sure they didn’t eat. Every time the other birds went inside all you heard was screaming. The coop is 20 x 5 now. I can post a pic tomorrow. Is it better to do it during the day? I have had plenty of chickens over the years and never have had this problem

 

[Ridgerunner]

The way I read this the only food is in the coop, which forces the older to go inside. The older would not need to even go inside except to lay eggs since they sleep in the run. I don't know how much time the older spend inside the coop except when they are eating or laying. Having food and water inside and outside would be my first move.

With a 100 square feet coop you have a lot more than the typically recommended room for 9 birds but integration takes more room. That 5' width may be part of the problem too if the layout inside the coop requires the older birds to pass the younger to get where they want to go. It's not just about square feet but access and the ability for the younger to avoid the older. You should be fine once they get integrated. Looking forward to your photos so I can look at access issues.

Not sure what you are doing differently this time compared to previous years, if anything. Sometimes you can just add new birds with no preparation, especially if you have lots of room, whether you do that day or night. Dad would do that with 3 week old chicks, just turn them loose next to the coop in the morning, but his free ranged. We keep them in coops and runs so they don't have that much freedom to move. That is different.

It would be good to know if it is just one or two older ones leading the attack. If they are inside the coop it can be hard to determine that. It's possible you could solve a lot of this by locking up one older one for a little while if you could get the right one. It is possible to get one that is a brute. I don't see that often at all but with living animals anything is possible.

I don't know what is going on or why, just speculation. As long as no one is being injured I'd probably keep going but there may be a few things you can do to make it easier.