Integrating chicks with grown birds

My 4 week old chicks have moved into the coop where they will be living with my existing flock. They are currently inside a rabbit cage in the coop, so no physical contact between them. The initial reaction of the hens over the newcomers were just curiosity, one even seemed a bit jumpy. They now seem to pay no special attention to them. I'm nervous about letting them out in a week or so. Any advice for when I do? I have no idea about the disposition of my hens as I haven't introduced them to new birds before, but the bossy ones can sure be bossy. My plan is to let the chicks out of the cage after a week and then let them be out, with places to hide inside and outside. Supervised to start off with of course. Is it better to do shorter supervised sessions? At what point should I intervene? I am hoping that their initial reactions to seeing the new birds is telling for how it will go, but I'm not so sure that is the case...

Good question.
I am new to chickens & I'm interested in hearing what the experienced chicken keepers have to say.

I have 7 chicks at the moment but, there were two more breeds I wanted.
So, good info to learn for down the line.

You need to keep the chicks separated from the adults until they are at least 3 months old. Until then they are much to fragile to mix in with adults that could intentionally and accidentally injure them.

After 3 months you can start the mixing, just open the gates and left it happen. Make sure there is huge spaces and don't crowd them all. Lots of hiding places, leave their cage set up to escape back into, higher spots to jump onto for escape, and definitely add more food and water stations as the adults will attempt to starve them out. For now the adults aren't interested but they will be when you release them. Until then it does help to get the adults outside and let the babies out in the coop for a while every day so they learn where things are before release day.

On that day of release, watch carefully for the first hour, it's going to seem brutally mean at first but it's best to let them work it out. Only intervene if blood is about to be shed. Watch carefully for quite sometime as well.

It takes months for new birds to work into a flock so do be patient. And don't be afraid to lock up an adult bully if they are relentlessly attacking a chick, some adults can be pretty cranky.

Good luck!

On a funny note, I've had chicks that upon release think they are about to embark on a lifetime of being flock leader, just anxious to show their superiority, rushing up to the first adult chicken in their path. After a quick chest bump to the adult bird, the tall looming adult bird throws an open beak in their face and the terrified chick goes screaming into the nearest corner!

Agathe said:

My 4 week old chicks have moved into the coop where they will be living with my existing flock. They are currently inside a rabbit cage in the coop, so no physical contact between them. The initial reaction of the hens over the newcomers were just curiosity, one even seemed a bit jumpy. They now seem to pay no special attention to them. I'm nervous about letting them out in a week or so. Any advice for when I do? I have no idea about the disposition of my hens as I haven't introduced them to new birds before, but the bossy ones can sure be bossy. My plan is to let the chicks out of the cage after a week and then let them be out, with places to hide inside and outside. Supervised to start off with of course. Is it better to do shorter supervised sessions? At what point should I intervene? I am hoping that their initial reactions to seeing the new birds is telling for how it will go, but I'm not so sure that is the case...

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How many chicks, how many older birds?
How big is coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help immensely here.

I would suggest 'tiny doors'...or wire the crate door open just far enough for the chicks to go in and out, but so the big birds can't get into the crate.
I've integrated dozens of chicks at 4-6 weeks of age, it went much easier than waiting until they were older.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

TwoCrows said:

You need to keep the chicks separated from the adults until they are at least 3 months old. Until then they are much to fragile to mix in with adults that could intentionally and accidentally injure them.

After 3 months you can start the mixing, just open the gates and left it happen. Make sure there is huge spaces and don't crowd them all. Lots of hiding places, leave their cage set up to escape back into, higher spots to jump onto for escape, and definitely add more food and water stations as the adults will attempt to starve them out. For now the adults aren't interested but they will be when you release them. Until then it does help to get the adults outside and let the babies out in the coop for a while every day so they learn where things are before release day.

On that day of release, watch carefully for the first hour, it's going to seem brutally mean at first but it's best to let them work it out. Only intervene if blood is about to be shed. Watch carefully for quite sometime as well.

It takes months for new birds to work into a flock so do be patient. And don't be afraid to lock up an adult bully if they are relentlessly attacking a chick, some adults can be pretty cranky.

Good luck!

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WOW! It can be that bad .... I've heard stories, but ugh. That sounds awful.

Tami2 said:

WOW! It can be that bad .... I've heard stories, but ugh. That sounds awful.

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Well, it's not horrible but the pecking order is nothing to be taken lightly. Mixing chicks or new birds is always stressful for all involved, including me!

TwoCrows said:

Well, it's not horrible but the pecking order is nothing to be taken lightly. Mixing chicks or new birds is always stressful for all involved, including me!

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I believe it. YIKES!

Tami2 said:

I believe it. YIKES!

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I always swear I will never do it again, but that never lasts.

My experience is totally different. My brooder is in the coop so the chicks pretty much grow up with the flock. When my chicks are five weeks old (5 weeks, not 3 months) I open the brooder door and walk away. That's it for integration. Of course I monitor some but I've never had an issue.

There are a few things that help me out, other than raising them in the coop. I have a fairly large coop, 8' x 12' and two other 4' x 8' shelters they can sleep in. I have over 3,000 square feet outside so they have lots of room and I have the weather when I'm integrating that all the chickens can be outside from dawn until dark. I have three or four widely separated feeding stations and four or five water stations, depending on a few things, so there is no competition for food or water.

Mine do not join in one happy cuddly group for a long time. Until the juveniles reach maturity they tend to form a sub-flock, avoiding the adults or older chicks. One way chickens have learned to live together in a flock is that if there is conflict the weaker runs away from the stronger and avoid them, at least for a while. If the chicks invade the personal space of the adults the adults are likely to peck them. It doesn't take long for the chicks to learn to avoid the adults. This avoidance is day and night. My chicks do not sleep on the main roosts with the adults. I don't care where mine sleep as long as it is not in the nests and is predator safe. I try to not put them in the position where they are forced to share a small space with the adults.

If they are raised by a broody hen I sometimes see more mingling than this but not always. Those still tend to form their own sub-flock. I've had a broody hen wean her chicks at three weeks of age and leave them alone to make their way with the flock. They do fine. The broody hen had spent three weeks teaching the other chickens to leave her babies alone.

If you don't raise them the way I do and don't have the facilities I do, you cannot do what I do. It probably won't work for you. But a lot of people integrate chicks all the time, usually quite successfully. That's why Aart is asking those questions. There are a lot of different techniques you can use, which ones might work for you will depend on what you have to work with.