Merging chicks

[Bitterroot farm]

I have 6 eight week old chicks in a 8x12 foot coop with a 20x12 foot run.
We have 20-4 week various breed chicks in a large brooder pen in house. I know big mistake but it’s too late now.
Will merging them in three weeks +- be an issue versus merging with older hens?

 

[MarkJr]

I’d throw the older in with young. Give them a week. Put them all back outside.

 

[aart]

I suggest you partition off part of the coop and get the youngers out there asap.

This is how I do it, there's a couple links near the top of article showing 2 other keepers techniques:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

Still good to follow .....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.
Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[svh]

Heed @aart 's advice ..... I followed it (almost) to the letter, and had GREAT success, with VERY little drama.

I did have some favorable weather, 40s and 50s at night, with one night dipping into the 30s, but with a chick specific heating plate, I was able to start integration at 3 1/2 weeks.

That was about 9 weeks ago, and I'm still amazed at how well everything worked out !

 

[jreardon1918]

Heed @aart 's advice ..... I followed it (almost) to the letter, and had GREAT success, with VERY little drama.

I did have some favorable weather, 40s and 50s at night, with one night dipping into the 30s, but with a chick specific heating plate, I was able to start integration at 3 1/2 weeks.

That was about 9 weeks ago, and I'm still amazed at how well everything worked out !

Sooner the better. Our merge started at a few days. Separated until 4 weeks. Then chicks entered at their own peril. Now at 22 weeks, it is two small flocks during the day, one at night. No drama.

 

[svh]

Sooner the better. Our merge started at a few days. Separated until 4 weeks. Then chicks entered at their own peril. Now at 22 weeks, it is two small flocks during the day, one at night. No drama.

Yeah, I would have started the integration sooner, but I didn't get the chicks until they were 3 weeks old ! Just a few days in the house was enough for me !!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

So you have six 8-week-old chicks and twenty 4-week-olds. I assume the "hens" you mentioned are the 8-week-olds.

I looked at your ten-day forecast (thanks for including your location). The lowest temperature I saw was 37* F, not too bad. I've had 5-1/2-week-olds go through nights in the mid 20's F with no supplemental heat. Others say they've done that a week earlier. I would plan on getting them out of your house earlier than 3 weeks from now even if you cannot provide supplemental heat out there. I know how uncertain ten day forecasts are but they should e able to go outside without any heat in another week.

If you can safely provide heat in the coop, you can move them out now. My brooder is in the coop, I put them there straight out of the incubator, even when the outside temperature is below freezing. I keep one end of the brooder toasty warm but let the far end cool off as it will. Sometimes there is ice on that end. To me the biggest challenge of brooding outside is the temperature swings. You want one area warm enough in the coldest conditions and an area cool enough in the warmest conditions, the chicks are really good at selecting where they want to be if they have a choice. I've gone between below freezing to over 70* F in 36 hours, quite a swing. If you are brooding in your house you don't have to deal with that. But I understand wanting them out NOW!

20 chicks is a lot of chicks but that's the typical size of my broods. I use a heat lamp securely wired into place so it can't fall to provide heat. Wire is important. Do not depend on a clamp and do nut use string or plastic that can burn or melt. There are other ways to provide heat, heating pads or heat plates work great. But twenty 4-week-old chicks need a fairly large warm area, especially to sleep. If you don't like a heat lamp you might look at a hover. That's basically a shallow box open at the bottom that traps heat. Warm air rises and gets trapped underneath. You can handle a lot of chicks with one of those but by the time you get one built and working you probably won't need it unless the material is there and you give it a high priority. A heat pad or heat plate could provide that heat in a hover.

It's been a while since I read Aart's article. She tends to overcomplicate things and micromanage more than I do but her methods also tend to work. Think on her methods and how you can adjust those to your situation. They are good methods.

Your coop is a good size but the run may prove small. You can improve the quality of your run by adding clutter. That's Aart's "places to hide". It can help in the coop too. I have a lot more room outside than you do, my adults tend to go outside in the morning and not go back to the coop all day except to lay as long as a cold wind is not blowing.

My definition of a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. That is it. Mine tend to stay apart by age until they all mature, which is fine. When a less mature chicken invades the personal space of a more mature chicken they just might get pecked. It usually doesn't take that long for the younger ones to learn to avoid the older, day and night. It doesn't always work that way, sometimes they merge quite well. Yours may be close enough in age that they do not stay apart. I'd think the sooner you try that the more likely it is to work.

Sometimes it works to just put them together and let them go. It can be that easy. I have more than 50 square feet per chicken outside even when I'm crowded, I think that helps a lot. You can try that but I'm not sure you have the room. I'd definitely want a day I could spend a lot of time observing and be ready to intervene.

I would have a place prepared I could instantly isolate them if necessary, you may need it. My basic steps mirror Aart's if that doesn't work. House them across wire for a while, provide separate eating and feeding stations far apart, provide as much room as you can, and provide clutter. As much as I can I let mine manage merging by themselves. If they want to stay apart, let them, day and night. Try not to force them into small areas together.
Sometimes this does go really easily even if you don't follow all these suggestions. But sometimes it doesn't and you need to work harder. But it can be done.

Good luck!

 

[Bitterroot farm]

So you have six 8-week-old chicks and twenty 4-week-olds. I assume the "hens" you mentioned are the 8-week-olds.

I looked at your ten-day forecast (thanks for including your location). The lowest temperature I saw was 37* F, not too bad. I've had 5-1/2-week-olds go through nights in the mid 20's F with no supplemental heat. Others say they've done that a week earlier. I would plan on getting them out of your house earlier than 3 weeks from now even if you cannot provide supplemental heat out there. I know how uncertain ten day forecasts are but they should e able to go outside without any heat in another week.

If you can safely provide heat in the coop, you can move them out now. My brooder is in the coop, I put them there straight out of the incubator, even when the outside temperature is below freezing. I keep one end of the brooder toasty warm but let the far end cool off as it will. Sometimes there is ice on that end. To me the biggest challenge of brooding outside is the temperature swings. You want one area warm enough in the coldest conditions and an area cool enough in the warmest conditions, the chicks are really good at selecting where they want to be if they have a choice. I've gone between below freezing to over 70* F in 36 hours, quite a swing. If you are brooding in your house you don't have to deal with that. But I understand wanting them out NOW!

20 chicks is a lot of chicks but that's the typical size of my broods. I use a heat lamp securely wired into place so it can't fall to provide heat. Wire is important. Do not depend on a clamp and do nut use string or plastic that can burn or melt. There are other ways to provide heat, heating pads or heat plates work great. But twenty 4-week-old chicks need a fairly large warm area, especially to sleep. If you don't like a heat lamp you might look at a hover. That's basically a shallow box open at the bottom that traps heat. Warm air rises and gets trapped underneath. You can handle a lot of chicks with one of those but by the time you get one built and working you probably won't need it unless the material is there and you give it a high priority. A heat pad or heat plate could provide that heat in a hover.

It's been a while since I read Aart's article. She tends to overcomplicate things and micromanage more than I do but her methods also tend to work. Think on her methods and how you can adjust those to your situation. They are good methods.

Your coop is a good size but the run may prove small. You can improve the quality of your run by adding clutter. That's Aart's "places to hide". It can help in the coop too. I have a lot more room outside than you do, my adults tend to go outside in the morning and not go back to the coop all day except to lay as long as a cold wind is not blowing.

My definition of a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. That is it. Mine tend to stay apart by age until they all mature, which is fine. When a less mature chicken invades the personal space of a more mature chicken they just might get pecked. It usually doesn't take that long for the younger ones to learn to avoid the older, day and night. It doesn't always work that way, sometimes they merge quite well. Yours may be close enough in age that they do not stay apart. I'd think the sooner you try that the more likely it is to work.

Sometimes it works to just put them together and let them go. It can be that easy. I have more than 50 square feet per chicken outside even when I'm crowded, I think that helps a lot. You can try that but I'm not sure you have the room. I'd definitely want a day I could spend a lot of time observing and be ready to intervene.

I would have a place prepared I could instantly isolate them if necessary, you may need it. My basic steps mirror Aart's if that doesn't work. House them across wire for a while, provide separate eating and feeding stations far apart, provide as much room as you can, and provide clutter. As much as I can I let mine manage merging by themselves. If they want to stay apart, let them, day and night. Try not to force them into small areas together.
Sometimes this does go really easily even if you don't follow all these suggestions. But sometimes it doesn't and you need to work harder. But it can be done.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone.
I built a 3x8x4 foot brooder with heated covered end in the coop and evicted the little ones to the coop Thursday night. (Wife much happier)
Everyone one seems ok. Older ones are at the wire wall all the time. It’s fun to watch.
I’m definitely going to clutter up the run before the brooder partition disappears.
Again thanks everyone