The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Westyardfarm on June 23, 2015, 11:16:58 am
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Mummy bantam now has two chicks. The eggs came from a neighbours farm and are likely to be pretty big birds. They are now 5 weeks old and growing rapidly. At what age can they be introduced to our other 4 layers? Also there are a couple of cats and a small dog to deal with. The chickens soon show them who is in charge, but when will the chicks be old enough to fend them off? :chook:
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We don't mix our chicks with the adults until they are capable of defending themselves, which we take as 26 weeks or when they are laying. Not sure how they will react to a dog though?
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Ditto, and we mix them by putting them all into new quarters so the older birds aren't also defencing their territory. Anything younger and you risk them to be pecked to death with amazing rapidity.
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If it's young birds on their own, then yes they need to be adult. And even then, it's always fraught.
But with young birds that are with their 'mum', wouldn't it be better to let her introduce them while she's still protecting them? This is what has always happened at all the places I've been where the broodies hatch and rear the eggs. Broody + chicks in broody pen, start letting them out together from about 5 weeks old (maybe sooner, Mum seems to know when they should be getting out and about.) At a point, Mum goes back to the main house, by then the youngsters are part of the flock and know their places in the pecking order, so seem fine.
And Mum will see off the 4-legged furries, too ;)
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I've always kept mine apart until PoL-mainly because they are eating different things of course but also because of what the other posters mentioned. This year, for various reasons I had a broody hen hatch in an arc in the bigger pen, where they were kept until 7 weeks old. Hen was then fed up and I let them all in together-there's only one pullet, the others are all boys destined to be culled. The two cock birds and all the other, older hens have been absolutely fine-one male saw off the top hen when she had a bit of a go on the first day and thats it. Broody hen moved back into the coop on the first night and the growers kip in the broody arc and although they followed her about a bit for a few days, that was it. However, the older birds had seen the chicks from the get go.
Cats, dogs (and sparrow hawks!) are different though-not sure on that, I wouldn't expect a hen to defend successfully or even that aggressively once the chicks are a few weeks old. I wouldn't expect a grower to be able to chase a predator off or a dog/cat to not be excited by a young grower. I would see it as your job to keep the dogs/cats away.
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Others have said all on the chicken intro front. When I was socialising my dogs with the chicks I had the chickens in a dog crate so the dogs could have a good sniff but no risk of eating. After a while the dogs ignored and then I could let the chickens out but still needed my commands not to chase them rather than them needed to defend themselves. (I have Labs)