How I introduced new chickens to my flock - at 4 weeks old!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- It's usual to only introduce new chickens to an existing flock once the new ones are big enough to fend for themselves - about the same size as the current chickens. But I didn't have the space to keep my new chicks separate until they grew up, so I moved them out to my main chicken coop when they were only 4 weeks old. It was a success - probably because:
- I had more new chicks than my old flock of three big hens
- I set up a temporary fence so the two groups could see and hear each other but not touch
- I kept the existing hens occupied and happily distracted from the new arrivals
- I ensured both groups had plenty of space and unhampered access to feed and water
- I gave the new chicks a chance to explore their surroundings while the hens were out of the way
- And because my new chicks were so much smaller than the existing hens, I was able to give them a hole in the separating fence that they could get through but the big hens could not.
It took four or five weeks of slowly decreasing the separation until my two flocks were happily coexisting full time, when the new chicks were still only 8 weeks old.
I recommend these strategies to anyone who needs to introduce new chickens to an existing flock.
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Thank you. Great informative video
Thank you 🙂
Such great ideas . Thanks
Thank you. Have a great day 🙂
Love this. I was trying to plan out how to do this very thing. You gave me lots of ideas with the set up I have in place.
Excellent! That's exactly why I make these videos! If I can stimulate a few ideas of your own, that's perfect 🙂
❤!
Thank you for this awesome video. It's really helpful and thorough. ❤
Thank you 🙂 I'm going to be doing it again soon because I've just got new baby chicks. Only 3 babies this time but it's really warm at night now so I'm confident they will be fine.
Best wishes that your experiences go smoothly for all concerned.
Have a great day 🙂
Your one smart cookie
Thank you kindly 🙂
congrats on your recent integration! i also recently integrated 2 barred rock chicks (at about 6-7 weeks old) with 2 mature blue rock hens. i basically did just what you did. i made a small pen within my existing run, with its own food and water provisions, and i purchased a small separate coop to house the little ones at night. i kept them separated overnight for about 1 week and then i put the chicks into the main coop one evening. they went through a period of establishing a pecking order and keeping distance, which went on for about a week or so. now we're all one happy family! thanks for your story i always enjoy your videos (and your background music). may God bless you and your chickens, in Jesus' name.
Thank you. Good to hear another example of the system working. And glad to hear your chickens are all happy together.
Have a great day 🙂
Another great video! I've been trying to work out the best way to integrate my staggered flock. I have 3 who were 7 weeks old when I put them into the coop/run and are now about 11-12 weeks old. I have 4 "littles" who are almost 6 wks old now. They were all brooded in a tent in my guest room! lol It's been fun, but I need the room back soon, so I've been taking the littles on field trips to the run. I have a wire dog kennel set up there with food and water. The idea has been to get everybody familiar with each other safely. After a few hours, I take the littles back in. I love the arrangement you had made with the corner of the plastic fence to allow an escape route for the little ones. I think that will be my next move-- with maybe a tiny "camping" coop for overnights. I live in Floirda so cold weather isn't a problem. Thank you for making such helpful (and charming) videos! :)
Yes! A "camping coop"! I love it! And I bet it would work very well. I once had a broody hen set up in a cardboard box on the grass with a feed bag underneath it and a blue tarpaulin over it 😄 But yes I think you have been very patient about your guest room 🙂
Thank you! I am in the process of doing the same thing. Wish me luck!
Good luck! I'm sure it will be fine 🙂
i will be introducing chickens to my chickens soon too!
I have always thought that the 'introduce them at night on the roost' was such a silly idea, and grossly underestimates chicken intelligence. They all know their names, and flock mates' names, so who are these "strangers"?!
You were lucky with the small dividing fence, I needed full height division because I had a determined flyer (the alpha) who would have gone over the fence and made a bloody mess of even three newbies (8mo so same size or bigger). She took alpha'ing quite seriously, she has passed now.
I agree with the rest of your advice and steps. The thing most people miss, is that the newbies need to gain confidence in the various spaces long before integration occurs (all chickens like to be confident of their environment). If your chickens have free range time, and the newbies have had an explore of the free range separately, that is where I introduced my two groups so that everyone had plenty of space and no one got cornered and injured if it kicked off badly. Try to design your run over-sized, so that you can fence off an area without too much impact to the existing flock.
Absolutely. I agree completely. Many people wildly underestimate the space needed to keep chickens HAPPY, which is quite different to the amount of space needed to keep chickens alive 😒
@@chickensinmygarden Yes indeed. Some videos I see give out fairly minimal spaces. I say, double or triple that! Particularly on the runs. Larger spaces for the coops if they are in there for winter (mine only go in there for heavy rains). A much bigger space also cuts down on fighting.
@davinasquirrel7672 All kinds of problems simply don't happen if they have enough space - right from baby chicks. Stress makes everyone unhappy and unhealthy
Great video! Thank you for sharing this with a new chicken mamma. I was wondering how to introduce the new babies to the current flock. This helps a lot. I appreciate your time and information. Have a wonderful day! It's amazing how smart chickens can be. I've been training them and it's so much fun.
Glad to help 🙂
Best wishes to you and your chickens 🙂
Sounds like you and the chickens are all very smart and kind I love it
Well, definitely the chickens are smart 😄
Oh it is lovely video! You are so clever and your husband has a really good technique to make a chicken palace! What if after adapting period, the newbies has small body and the weakest one..? I put multiple feeders and drinkers but the other big hens don’t let the newbies eat comfortably😞
As long as even the littlest one is getting enough to eat and drink throughout the day it will eventually sort itself out in time.
Make sure the feeders and water are scattered around, not all in one place. Even better if some of the feeders and water are around a corner out of sight of the main flock.
If you think that one is still not getting enough then you could do like I did with the temporary fence, keeping the big ones and little ones separate for part of each day
🙂
Brilliant! Love it!
Thank you 🙂
Good plan
Thank you. This is lovely! Just found you. Also just started our chicken journey with our new 5 wk old chicks 😍
I already know I want more 🤭
Yes Yes Yes! Of course you do 🙂 Everybody wants more chickens 🐥🐥🐥🐥🙂
I'm sure you're going to love having chickens they are so delightful.
We have had them 24h and we adore them! ❤
Thanks so much for your thoughtful approach. You’ve said that introducing one chicken is a no-no. What if that needs to be done?
Of course the answer it "It depends". 😀 I say that so often about all things chicken!
It depends on how many are in your current flock, what temperament they have, how much space they have, whether there are hiding places and multiple feeders and drinkers.
But just supposing you have a current flock of 6-10 heritage breeds and you want to introduce one adult large hen.
To start with you should quarantine your hen within sight and sound of your flock for a few days to be sure she isn't bringing disease into your flock.
Then move her into a sectioned off portion of your chicken run for a couple of days where she and the others can interact but through a fence. All this gives her time to learn the (possibly frightening) sights and sounds of her new home.
When you see the others are ignoring her, open the fence at a time when you are around but most of your flock are not (eg give them some treats in another part of their area). Watch what happens and be ready to fence them off again if necessary to protect her. Give her time to explore her new home without distractions of the other chickens. Let her decide when she wants to integrate. This is the softest, safest option.
Alternatively if you have a small flock with plenty of room and you know the new chickenis perching at night and familiar withyour style of feeder and drinker, after quarantine just put her on the perch at night, next to a wall and your sweetest-natured chicken, then watch them in the morning. Some squabbles and pecks are normal but the current flock should eventually get on with their day and give the new one a chance to eat and drink. If she perches with the others that night, job done.
Very very informative and creative Thank you.
Thank you. That's very kind of you 🙂
Very interesting
Just Love Love Your Videos Miss Kiwi!!
My goodness, it sounds like having geese AND chickens is even more fun than just chickens 🙂
I always use that method of introducing new chickens into my flock. Like you I hatch most of my new chickens, but this year I'm acquiring some new breeds for new blood and genetics. I will be quarantining the new chicks.
Ooh, new chicks! What breeds are you getting?
@@chickensinmygarden a mix of my different large breed hens and a large mixed breed rooster I was given. The chicks are also large at two weeks old. I don't have any brahmas, so I have no idea where the size is coming from. Many of my hens that are so large came from a friend's flocks eggs that I let a broody hatch. I saw the parents and they were the average standard breed size. They sure eat a lot.
The new chicks I'm getting in April are Australorp, Orphington, Cochin and Americana.
That sounds wonderful! I like seeing different chickens in my yard and collecting a pretty selection of eggs from the nest box.
My flock of five hens don't know what to think of the (6) baby chicks I added to the run last Wednesday.They're curious but ignore them for the most part. I've provided plenty of hiding places for the chicks and supervise them closely. They've got a big dog crate I use as a brooder I set in the middle of the run. They're only 3 weeks old this week so they aren't feathered out yet.They will roost in a different coop than my other chickens and only share the run.
Really helpful information. Thank you!
Thank you 🙂
Very sweet and detailed
Thank you for watching 🙂
2 questions, Madam: if the odds are that a couple/three of your five hatchlings are cockerels, what then? (By-laws forbid a rooster.) Does the really cute cartoon coroner from your previous video have a name? Today's presentation is timely. My sincere hope is to raise baby chicks someday, though my little ones would come from a hatchery. Thanks so much for teaching me some of the ropes. Bye. 🇨🇦
1. Cockerels. Yes some chicks are always boys and I can't keep roosters in town. Last year I hatched 9 Barnevelders and only 3 were girls. I managed to sell all the boys (for $1 the lot) to someone who wanted a breeding rooster. (I'm pretty sure they ate the other 5). This time I hatched only 5 chicks but 4 of them are girls. The Faverolles cockerel is still not crowing yet but when he does I will have to find a home for him.
2. Nope. She's a composite of some cartoon images. But I bet you can think of a good name for her 😄
I do hope you get the chance to raise chicks - they are so much fun!
Im just wondering, why did you move to town? anyways, great video as always!
Thanks for the compliment.
We moved to town because I finally retired and we wanted to be somewhere with a warm climate and a smaller more manageable property within walking distance to cafes etc. We were very lucky to find this - as well as the chickens I have a big vegetable garden and have planted 10 fruit trees. I occasionally post garden updates on my garden Facebook page facebook.com/MyPlentifulGarden
Lovely video as always! And very informative as well 😊!
We've just moved the chicks with the others adults chickens and the rooster in the educational farm I work for. We went through pretty much the same process to accommodate the newbies with the big girls.
A little question though: I understood that you moved your chicks outside because they were taking a lot of space indoor. Do you also pay attention to the development of their feathers? We waited for the fluff to be mostly replaced with adult feathers before moving them outside.
Hi. Good to hear you follow a similar process.
In this case at 4 weeks old the chicks' feathers were not yet fully developed. The temperatures were mild (late summer - early Autumn, highs around 25 degrees C) but they still needed extra warmth especially at night. That's what the light-in-a-bucket was for. They could snuggle up to it any time they wanted and always did at night 🙂
@@chickensinmygarden Perfect! Thank you very much for your reply 😊
Loving your videos.
Can you show how to make the incandescent light bucket brooder?
Oh, maybe I could do a Short. You just need a light fitting, like is used for old-fashioned ceiling lights. Cut a hole in the bottom of a bucket. Put a piece of wood on the outside, insert the light fitting into the bucket and screw it through the bucket to the wood. The electrical wire is now coming out from the top of the bucket and the screw fitting for the light bulb is inside. Screw in the bulb. Plug in to power (I had a dimmer switch in the system for variable heat settings).
Hmm. It does seem like this would be easier to explain with pictures 😄 I'll get onto it 🙂
I have a question. :) it is unrelated to this topic,but i really need to ask it. My silkie broody hen( first timer) pooped into the nest. I washed her feathers as much as I could with warm water,changed the nest material end carefully washed the 3 poopy eggs out of 7. Is there a chance that they will hatch or all of them will get infected?😭😭😭
There's a chance they will hatch but the eggs you washed are most at risk of bacterial contamination. When there is moisture outside the shell that is cooler than the egg contents inside, the moisture tends to get sucked inside the egg. This takes any bacteria with it, as well as maybe decreasing the size of the air cell.
I suggest you leave all the eggs with the hen for now but check them carefully every day. At the first sign of contamination (oozing, smell, weird coloration) then dispose of the affected egg immediately. The worst thing would be for a contaminated egg to burst and shower bacteria over everything.
But certainly don't give up hope of at least some of the eggs hatching. Chicks overcome amazing difficulties and manage to hatch.
Good luck 🙂
Thank you very much! It is day 20 and only one silkie egg stopped developing. 2 baby chicks just hatched out of 6 eggs. It only took them 5 hours. I can hear pipping from the remaining 4 eggs too.😍😍 It is the first time I have seen a chick hatch and it is fascinating! I hope it gives you some nostalgia too because I will remember for this moment for the rest of my life!🥰🥰
Update: 2 more have hatched
That is an excellent outcome especially considering the extra risk. Congratulations to you, your mama hen and each chick who made it out into the world!
Now you will find out how wonderful it is to watch mama and babies ❤❤❤🐥
I’m looking for information about reintegrating a hen back into her flock (a bit of a tangent I know). We’re currently nursing her inside after she was attacked by a dog. Will the other three hens accept her when we are able to put her back outside again? I watched your video about chickens being able recognise up to 100 others, so it’s unlikely she’ll be a stranger to them, but I’m still a bit worried.
How awful for you both! Dog attacks can be horrific, and even the unhurt chickens can be very stressed by it.
You are right on both counts - yes the flock will remember her but she will still need to re-establish where she fits on the pecking order now. How mild/brutal that is depends on a lot of variables. However at least some of that ranking can be done using visual and auditory cues (without touch) so if the single hen is still not in top physical condition then it would be a good idea to reintroduce her first via a separate enclosure where they can see and hear each other before any actual pecking can take place.
As soon as she is out of "ICU" perhaps you could set her up in a "recovery ward" with one of your most placid chickens. Then reintroducing the two of them will take the heat off a bit. And meanwhile she would be less alone.
I hope it goes well. If afterwards you think "what a lot of bother for nothing" then you will have done a great job 🙂
@@chickensinmygarden thank you for the advice . We might try putting the broody cage out and putting her in that, so she’ll be visible but protected, and go from there.
How can I go about putting my month old babies with my 3.5 month babies
I haven't tried to mix youngsters. In general the chicks don't develop the sense of pecking order until about 6 weeks so I would not expect much in the way of fighting. I would think the main issue might be the size difference.
What I would do is pretty much as usual - i.e start with both lots separated but visible to each other, preferably in an area that is most familiar to the younger ones, make sure there are plenty of opportunities for eating and escaping/ hiding, and then after they are used to each other open the divider.
The relative numbers will make a difference too - if you have more younger ones than older ones that's better.
Fingers crossed. Do let me know how it goes 😊
Such a comprehensive video.
I noticed the lush garden bed in your main run. Have your three big girls not decimated what's in there? What are you growing, if you don't mind me asking?
I'm still working out the best way to manage a small run in town. (You've probably seen my videos about working out how much space I need and building the new chicken house when we moved into town.) In the main run that you saw I have red clover - it's a good food for chickens and is perennial so should resprout once decimated by chickens. But it looks good at the moment because I'm rotating the areas the chickens are allowed in to, like break feeding or strip feeding used in farming, allowing each area to recover between feeding. Yesterday again I extended the area of clover they have access to, and fenced off behind the chicken house to sow a mix of wheatgrass, rye and barley which I hope will sprout before winter slows growth too much.
But one useful tip is to grow comfrey and (dare-I-say-it) dock. Both resprout from ground level if given even half a chance and both are good for chickens, and mine like them.
@@chickensinmygarden Thank you for the detailed response! Was always told Russian comfrey was poisonous if ingested, so am glad to hear that your girls are doing fine on it.
I think both true comfrey (Symphytum officiale) and so-called Russian Comfrey (which is a hybrid developed in the UK) contain a pyrrolizidine alkaloid called echimidine, which in large amounts can be toxic to the liver of humans and possibly also chickens. But I think this refers to feeding dried powdered comfrey products rather than nibbling at fresh leaves. Certainly comfrey has been widely used as poultry feed with good results. It's relatively low in fibre and high in protein and vitamins.
Probably the main concern recorded is the ability of some species of comfrey to spread by seed and become weedy, and the concern that you'll never be able to get rid of it if you do decide you want to. My chickens destroyed and completely eradicated several plants before I learned to provide some protection for the root, so this is not a concern for me.
can you have 3 or 4 chickens and 1 rooster? I heard you should have 7-9 hens for 1 rooster, but I dont have much space or even need for that many chickens. when you wanna add a rooster to your flock of adult hens how old should he be? is it possible old hens will try to attack him or will he keep them in line?
That's a lot of questions about roosters . I'll try to answer them. You could also check out some of my other videos about roosters
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and
th-cam.com/video/vFaC7F9MqK4/w-d-xo.html
and maybe
th-cam.com/video/23Ncn7JhzqE/w-d-xo.html.
You could certainly keep a rooster with just a few hens, it's just that the hens are inclined to get hurt (broken feathers, even open wounds) from frequent mating or alternatively the rooster isn't interested in mating at all.
It's usual for the rooster to be the boss of the flock once he's mature, which is at about a year old. Younger than that and the top-ranked hen will probably remain the boss. A young cockerel introduced on his own to a flock would be picked on to the same extent as any young chicken would be if introduced on their own.
Hope that helps 🙂
@@chickensinmygarden some hens start laying eggs when they are 18 weeks old and it takes 1 year for a rooster to mature? what breed of rooster is the most quiet?
And some hens are about 11 months old before they come into lay. There is a lot of variation by breed, time of year at hatching etc. In general a cockerel becomes fertile about the same time as his sisters come into lay but he won't reach his peak for a few more months.
Different breeds of roosters have the reputation of being noisy / quiet or aggressive / friendly but actually it's more a matter of strain than breed (like some families tend to be more musical, it's not a matter of nationality). Ask around at the breeders you have available - they should be able to tell you about their stock in relation to what traits you want.
We have 1 gray chicken Lucky hatched in the incubator. Trying to introduce her into the flock now that she is over 3 weeks. But she's being hiding in a safe spot the first day and followed me instead. Put another similar sized one (white color) with her for 36 hours and hope they would bond. But after being released, the white one went after the mum and left Lucky alone😢. Any suggestions how to introduce her to the flock? Thanks!
So Lucky is 3 weeks old and all the other chickens are adults?
@@chickensinmygarden thanks for the reply. We have around 30 chickens, all different ages. Lucky is the youngest, closest one is about 3 weeks older but she was hatched by a hen.
It's never a good idea to introduce one chicken to a flock, even if they are all the same age. And at 3 weeks old, Lucky won't be feathered yet and still needs a heat source. My suggestion would be to get one or two younger chicks as close as possible to Lucky's age and raise them together until they are around 6-8 weeks old, then introduce them as a group, slowly, like I did in this video.
If chicks are raised by a hen, you can keep the mixed ages together because mum does the bully-protection, but babies on their own have no guardian, and a single chicken has no friends 😥
Thanks again! Will try to put the white one with her inside for another 3-4 weeks and see how they rejoin the rest go. Lucky will be 4 week old by this Friday.
Good luck. It won't be long before she's all grown up 🙂
Firrrrst...!!!