[Bionic]

My chicks (well hardly chicks as they are 7 weeks old now) are sleeping in the stable where they have a little coop. They are now roosting on top of the coop each night.
A week ago mum decided she didn't want anything more to do with them and took herself off the the main coop with the other big girls.
Tonight I was going to put them all together but one of the chicks went into the big girls coop and her mum was quite nasty to her. The others don't seem to have a problem. So chicks are back in the stable.
During the day, although the chicks often wander off on their own they also spend a lot of time with the other hens. I only have 3 big hens.
How do I integrate them all into the same coop?
Sally

[Mel Rice]

slowly...My last two chicks were brooded away from the rest but fairly early on put with mum back into the main house (placed in one evening) Mum has long ago deserted them and they are def. the cellar of the pecking order. They are always the last into the house and sleep away from the others...infact in the rafters of the house.

[jaykay]

I don't do it til mine are 12-14 weeks and a bit more able to hold their own.

They will still be the bottom of the pecking order even then, and I add extra feeders and drinkers so the chicks can't be bullied off them completely.

[hughesy]

I don't mix growers with adults until they're nearly as big as the adults. Even then the more of them the better as it dilutes any aggresion. Often even if there's no aggro they keep themselves separate for a while so make sure there's enough space for them to roost and get to feed and water without having to challenge the older birds.
I should add that they will have been living in a pen next door to the older birds for some time so will not come as a complete shock to each other and will have been hatched here and not bought in as growers.

[Mel]

What colour are they,the only reason I ask is when and however any of us integrate hens,did you know that they do actually notice different colours.

i.e. I have white hens in my main flock,I also have some white Capons for Christmas,The wind here took the fence panel down the other day,I arrived home and thought,oh no,there is going to be bedlam going on,and nothing,not a bicker or any unfriendliness at all,it is true.Now if you were to add a white hen to an all brown flock-there would be problems!

I have always had mixed colour flocks,so if I had to integrate any together,it would be pain free,there shall always be a little pecking going on in the coop at night,it is just their way,but they soon settle down.

I also had a Mum whom became aggressive towards one of her chicks,I thought she was going to kill her actually and I had to tell mummy off,the chick she picked on was a different colour to the rest,my way of dealing with this was to put Mum back with the chicks for a little while longer,I know it may sound odd,but I wonder if the mother is actually picking on her because she has come into the main coop-and may get hurt?! ??

[in the hills]

As Jaykay says.    I tend to wait until they are near point of lay and even then wire off part of the coop for a while if it is practical. If they are safe where they are I would wait quite a while longer before attempting an introduction. Free ranging together is usually fine although some would say that growers and older birds should not mix. Keeping them all separate is not practical for me and not had any problems so far  .

[Bionic]

Mine seem to be happy free ranging. Sometimes they all go together and at other times they are as far apart as they can be.
I have mixed colours but the mum in question is a light sussex. However, the chicks aren't really hers. They were eggs bought by post. I have 2 copper maran chicks and 2 wyandotte so none of them look like mum.
When she was playing mum properly she was really good with them.
Sally

[in the hills]

It's quite normal for her to peck them now, Bionic, she is telling them in no uncertain terms that it's time for them to stand on their own two feet.    She is still being a good mum ..... telling them it's time to be independent. Bless her .... she's had enough. 

[Bionic]

The problem may be begining to sort itself.
Usually I herd the chicks into the stable before dark and shut them in and the hens go into their own coop when they are ready.
Last night I was out until late so just shut all the doors when I got back. This morning on opening the coop I found one of the chicks in there with the big girls. They all seemed to be quite happy. I opened the stable and everyone was reunited and went off for a wander together.  Tonight I am going to leave them all to their own devices and let them choose where they want to sleep and see how it goes.
Sally
 

[sokel]

Several times when I have had a bantam hatch a clutch in a seperate ark from the other birds once they get out to freerange during the day they have started to take the chicks back into the big sheds at night. Touch wood so far I have had no problems with them.
I have a lightsussex bantam brought 6 new chicks back last week after going awol  to sit her eggs at the moment they are in an ark but will see what happens when I let them out