Are you looking to add new chicks to your already-established flock? Before you get to the introductions, discover these 9 must-know tips on how to integrate baby chickens to the flock so that you can keep the peace in your chicken yard.
In this post, you are going to learn about how to integrate new chicks into your existing flock, all while keeping the peace. With the right approach and time, you can successfully merge different generations of chickens in your coop. Let’s dive in!
This post is all about how to successfully integrate chicks into your existing flock.
Top 9 Tips On How to Integrate Baby Chickens to Your Flock
1. Chicken Breed and Personality Considerations
First and foremost when looking at integrating new chickens into an established flock, you ideally want to ensure you are matching breeds and personalities to the best of your ability. Each chicken breed has a distinct temperament, and recognizing these differences can significantly contribute to a harmonious coexistence.
For example, breeds like the Buff Orpington, Sussex, and Australorp are known for their docile nature, whereas breeds like the Road Island Red and the Wyandotte are more dominant. When mixing breeds within a flock if you match docile breeds with other docile breeds then they are more likely to get along with others. Understanding and aligning the personalities of your new and existing flock members can minimize bullying and create a more peaceful and contented environment within your coop.
2. Quarantine Before You Integrate Baby Chickens to The Flock
Before introducing new chicks and chickens to your existing flock, you will want to quarantine the newcomers for at least 30 days. This is the best practice for the health and safety of your current flock to ensure you are not introducing any illness to your existing flock of chickens.
Isolate the newcomers far away from the existing flock and observe them for signs of illness. Change clothes, wash your hands, and do not share equipment between the flocks until that 30 days is up. Conduct health checks to ensure the introduction is not a risk to the existing flock’s well-being.
I personally only buy chicks from NPIP-certified hatcheries that test their flocks for certain diseases and keep strict biosecurity measures. I feel safer about giving these chicks to a broody hen to raise within my own flock (i.e. they would not be quarantined since they are going straight to a broody hen).
3. Best Age to Integrate Baby Chickens to The Flock
What’s best for you and your flock may be different from what’s best for someone else, so it’s best to evaluate your situation. Some things to keep in mind are the weather, how many chicks you are introducing, the age of the current flock, and how big your chicken coop and run are.
My location in Puerto Rico is always hot so my chicks started going out for supervised daily trips at just a few weeks old (in a completely separate area from my chicken yard/coop). They were already used to being outside and felt safe in their pen that I used to do my chicken introductions. When I started my introductions my chicks were around 5/6 weeks old.
At the very least you will want to ensure that your chicks are fully feathered, which happens at around 6 weeks of age and that the weather is safe for them to be out in.
4. Separate and Visible Chick Introductions | First Two Weeks
The “separate and visible” method is a safe way to start your chick introductions to your existing flock. Ideally, you would keep your chicks and existing flocks in this type of setup for at least two weeks. This allows your new chicks and existing chickens to start to work out their pecking order without the existing chickens being able to hurt your chicks.
You’ll want to create a designated space for the chicks within the existing coop. For my chick introductions I used the plastic playpen from their early brooder days but you can use anything that will allow the chicks to meet your existing flock without the existing flock being able to get to the chicks. You can find the exact playpen I used in my top baby chick essentials post here.
Ensure this area is secure from predators, well-ventilated, they have access to food and water, there’s shade and some cover so they can get out of the rain.
{RELATED POST: 7 Must-Have Baby Chick Starter Kit Essentials}
5. Supervised Introductions | 2 Weeks and Beyond
Once your chicks have been allowed to gradually introduce themselves through the safety of the pen setup, you can start to do supervised introductions. I propped open the doors to both of their plastic pens just enough that the baby chicks could get in and out but the existing flock of bigger chickens couldn’t squeeze in.
I first did this in the evening, closer to chicken bedtime, so that everyone was a bit more chill after a full day of frolicking around looking for bugs. During this time I sat with them to ensure all was well. There may indeed be some chasing and pecking, however, it’s best to let them sort this out, provided you do not see blood or excessive picking on the chicks. Use your discernment here and intervene if you feel things have escalated too far. Thankfully using this method of a gradual introduction I didn’t have too much bullying and no blood. I did have quite a bit of chasing but when it did happen the chicks knew to run back into their pens for safety.
I kept the chick’s food and water safely within the pens so that they could continue to eat and drink without the threat of a big chicken chasing them off.
For this stage I continued to keep the chicks within their pen during the day for the next several days, only letting them out in the evenings when I could be there to supervise everyone. Once I felt the chicks knew how to get away from the big chickens I started to keep them out all day together with their pens available.
6. Space Considerations and Safe Hideouts
Space is a critical factor when integrating chicks into the flock. An overcrowded coop and run can lead to unnecessary disputes and stress. Ensure there is ample space within the coop and run for all chickens to have
To keep the peace, provide safe hideouts for both chicks and adult chickens. These hideouts offer refuge in case of aggression or bullying. Ensure there are multiple hiding spots, and strategically place them around the coop to prevent one dominant chicken from controlling them.
Adding things like chairs, wooden pallets leaned against a wall or fence, and keeping the chick pens available with only enough space for a small chick to get through is helpful so that if a chick is getting picked on, they have areas they can fly up to or give them space between them and the older birds.
7. Multiple Feed and Water Stations
Setting up multiple areas for food and water will help ensure everyone has access without having to worry about competition. I have two covered areas at either end of my chicken run where I set up a couple of chick and adult chicken feeders and water stations.
I kept chick feeders and water available within the chick pens for a little bit. Once I saw the chicks all eating out of the feeders in the run I then removed the feeders from their pens.
8. Roosting Together
Once my chicks had begun their daily supervised introductions, I started putting one of their pens inside of the chicken coop at night for the chicks to sleep in.
A nice thing about raising chicks with older chickens is that they will pick up on the flock’s behaviors. For my first group of chickens, I had to set onto the roost bars at first so they knew they could sleep there. With my second group of chicks, they went to roost a lot faster than my first group. I do believe this is because they saw how the older chickens would start to go to bed when it would start getting dark out.
Even to this day my first group of chickens, my Speckled Sussex ladies are still the first to head in for the night. Then my second group started filing in behind them.
I have tiered roost bars, meaning they can select which bar they want to sleep on. They all have plenty of room to escape any chickens who might be pecking at them. There was quite a to-do when they all started roosting together but that didn’t last forever and now everyone generally has their preferred nighttime roosting spot.
9. Continue to Monitor Flock Behavior
Monitoring behavior during this process is crucial. Keep a close eye out for any signs of aggression or bullying among the chickens. While some chasing and pecking are to be expected, especially during the initial stages of introduction, the longer introduction with the pen should significantly reduce these behaviors.
Introducing chicks to the flock demands your patience and time. However, if you feel that the introductions are not going smoothly and your new chicks are experiencing unnecessary bullying, you can always revert to the phase where they can see each other in the pen. It’s important to proceed gradually. Start with brief, supervised interactions between the chicks and the adult chickens. As time passes, gradually increase the duration of these encounters. This step-by-step approach ensures that everyone adjusts to each other with minimal stress.
This was my experience introducing chicks to hens with my established flock. I hope that it helps you on your chicken keeping journey!
This post was all about how to integrate baby chickens to your flock. With this knowledge, you’ll be well-prepared to start your integration!
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Hi there! I’m Jess, a backyard chicken keeper living on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. With my flock of 15 friendly chickens, my mission is to help others feel confident about raising happy, healthy, and super friendly chickens. My dream is that everyone gets to know the love of a chicken and experience the joy they bring to your life.
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