Chima tries out one of the roosts in the big coop.
How can I merge my baby chick flock with my established older flock?
Our baby chicks will be nine weeks old this Sunday (see how much they’ve grown since we got them). They are getting so big, too big for their brooder, and I’m thinking it’s getting to be about time we move them outside with the older hens.
The last few nights we’ve let the little chickens and big chickens run around the backyard together. Both flocks have ignored each other up to this point. But last night, while the big hens were running around the yard, we took two baby chicks and put them in the coop, just so they could look around.
The big chickens immediately perked up and ran over to the coop. Who was in their house? They wanted to know. It was crazy that they even noticed. And they were definitely concerned and they hovered like a gang of thugs outside the coop entrance.
As Dora, one of our baby chickens, walked out of the coop, she was attacked by one of the big chickens! The big hen pecked at her (aggressively) and even pulled out a couple feathers before I stepped in! Who knows what would have happened if we weren’t standing there!
Now I’m super nervous about merging the babies with the big hens. What if the big hens hurt the little ones, or even worse – kill them! I realize that there is always a pecking order with flocks and that they will all try to show who is boss, but how can this happen safely?
Can you help me with these questions:
- Is it too early to merge my flocks?
- What techniques do you recommend for making it as painless as possible? I’ve heard of using a wire cage inside the coop for the babies, so the big chickens can get used to the little ones, but the babies are still safe.
- Should I start by putting the chicks in during the day when I can watch them? Or is it better to put them in at night when the birds are more docile?
- Should we just continue to merge the flocks while they are playing and eating in the yard?
Help! I need some chicken advice. 🙂
Reva says
I have 10-12 wk hens that I am adding in with the big hens. I have put a cage with a solid bottom in the coop to get them used to each other. It also makes things work better so you don’t have to modify the cage with a spacer each time you integrate new birds. We let the smaller fully feathered birds out for 30 min. to an hour at the end of the day. The big hens loose interest unless the smaller ones start flying around. I give them all fresh water and a small amount of pellets and corn so the big ones are to busy eating then they ignore the small ones to go on to roost in the coop. We then put the small ones in the cage and move them to the coop. It helps them get the concept of going in for safety at night.
Denise Marra says
On June 11 I brought home 4 baby chicks. I have my chicken coop in the loft of my trailer that my donkey and 3 goats live in. They have a huge area to live in and graze, enclosed by portable heavy metal fencing. My chicks were doing great with them, only they were able to go in and out of the fenced in area because the holes were large enough for them to go through. But at night they would walk up their plank and sleep in their loft. 3 weeks ago, the foxes killed 3 of my 4 chicks. I have 1 lonely girl now. So I fenced in the whole area with chicken coop wire and Peep-A-Boo stays with Elli May my donkey and goats. Donkeys protect their herd and anything that would come in the penned in area, she would stomp to death. I ordered 7 more chick for the week of August 25. I will put them together under a heat lamp for a few weeks, but I want to put them in the loft with Elli May as soon as possible. Do you think Peep-A-Boo will hurt the 7 baby chicks or should I separate her for awhile. She is still young herself, but has most her feathers. I was hoping since she is the only 1 grown chick, that she would welcome the babies. What do you think I should do?
jennifer says
I also put the babies in with a few older chickens a week before just to get them used to the girls before I involve the whole flock. Its just for a few hours a day to get them used to older birds.Pick an a couple older hens that you think are nicer. Keep an eye on them to see how they are acting. I never put the babies in the coup until they are fully feathered thou. They are just too small to withstand the cold outside. Hope this helps.
jennifer says
I have some good advice about integrating the baby chics into flock.. I read when they are fully feathered is when you can put the baby chics in with older birds, that is when the downy feathers are gone. I find that if I get a large sturdy box and cut a hole only the size a small chic can get in, on all four sides. This way they can elude the big birds when they need to. Put the box along a wall with a space for baby’s to get around it. I would put boards on top of box so the larger birds won’t fall through, cause they will get on top of box. You may have to cut bigger holes as the chics grow fast. I also put their water and food inside box so they can get to it in peace. This has worked great for us. I take the box out in a couple months when they are bigger. They can still run and hide behind the box as needed. Beware of roosters. It is a good idea to get rid of rooster if you can. Maybe leave him outside in a different area. They are mean to babies sometimes.
mrs.k says
We have some peeps that were hatched May 9-10 by a broody hen. She did a great job with them and was a fantastic momma. We integrated the peeps in with our older hens recently. Monday night we can home to find a dead peep. It’s sad, but I think they got a little carried away establishing their pecking order, and I don’t think it was intentional. Hopefully you are still having good luck with yours!
Just found your blog by the way, LOVE IT!
Mallory says
I’ve been told to put the new chicks in the coop at night but I haven’t tried it yet. Good luck.
Jennifer says
We are doing this right now with our chicks for the first time. My husband had them sectioned off in our coupe and once the were bigger opened it up so that they could go into the full coupe if they wanted. That way they can hide if they get picked on. So far this seems to be working well.
nwgardener says
I have joined multiple flocks with very little carnage to the new ones. I divide my chicken run so the two “groups” can see each other and work out a bit of that pecking order business. I ususally have a temporary coup for the new girls to sleep in which gets taken away when they are joined. After about 1 – 2 weeks I take down the divider and stay with them while they work out the rest of the new order. From the looks of your pictures, your new girls are ready to stay outside at night. They look pretty well feathered out. Plus we have a nice spell of warm weather that will make things easier. Even though the new ones are a lot younger they will do just fine. You might consider letting them out into your yard together. That would give the younger ones a lot of area to get away from getting cornered too much. After a day or so they will be happily clucking together. The most problem I’ve ever had was teaching the new girls where they sleep, even having to physically put them into the coup at night for a couple of days. You should do just fine.
Dee Wolters says
We have baby chicks in the garage too. It is fun watching them grow up! Several things to consider before putting them outside. 1. Night time temp. Baby chicks cannot regulate body heat well, so they need a warmer place than hens, so if it is still cold at night, it is too early. We have always moved our chicks at dusk, to the new house, so when they wake up in the AM, they know this is home, and will hopefully come back at night. And the hens do not see well in the dark, so will usually not bother the little ones in the dark. 2. They do not really need all that much room even if they seem crowded. We have 25 chicks in a 100 gal horse water trough. They will stay for a while longer, and it does get a bit tight, but they are fine. We do try to keep an eye on the little ones on the 1st day out in the yard, but they usually stick together and do ok.
Ashley says
I’m new to your blog and I love it! We also have baby chicks about same age as yours, we locked our babies in the “tractor” (in sight but safe) for about a week, and one day last week when we went to close up the coop my boys put the babies in the coop and shut the door. (I’ve read that if the big girls are groggy/sleeping it is better for them) are chickens free range all day but the babies still seem very skidish and stay in the tractor area…..
Ashley says
We hurry to let them out in the mornings to prevent as much pecking as possible. A couple chickens have pecked at the babies and I don’t like it!!!
Debbie says
I do not put them together till they are about the same size, but I do put them in the same coop with a seperation for a week then make sure you have areas in the run where they can hide if needed after you put them together. I had a piece of driftwood in ours. They are going to have to go through some pecking orde 🙁 In a couple weeks all will be good 🙂