The Pampered Pullets Farm
2012
Transitioning Chicks and Chickens
Almost everyone who comes to visit us here on the farm asks us how we get our different aged poultry to all live in harmony in one pen. Some days we wonder the same thing. But what works for us is a transition period before they are actually placed together.
Chickens live within a hierarchical society. There is a certain pecking order that is maintained but also frequently challenged.
If you have ever just put two chickens together or been around someone who has, you know that they will commence to fighting almost instantly. And this can be very frightening for the poultry owner who is just trying to simply expand their flock. But there is an easier way to maintain peace and order in the barn yard.
The use of a smaller pen adjacent to or within your larger pen is the easiest method we have found for transitioning new birds into the flock.
Let’s cover a few basics first. If you have chicks that you want to transition into your flock, they should be at least 6 weeks old and fully feathered before placed in an outside run. Any younger than this and they risk illness due to exposure. If you need to transition older birds into your established flock then you should have had them in a quarantine area for the past 30 days to watch for any illness that might come up. With that said, if you have one main pen that your normal flock is in and you want to transition the new birds into it, a second pen is needed. This can be a simple temporary structure built within or adjacent to your existing pen. It needs to have adequate shelter along with food and water. This will be the new birds home for a few weeks. At least one side needs to have 1 inch poultry netting all the way to the ground and preferably buried at least six inches deep. This is what will separate your main flock from the new birds. Place your new birds inside this area. Your established flock will come and check out the new birds and both sides will jump and claw at the fence trying to get at each other. This is the reason for the 1 inch mesh separation.
Generally after about an hour, your flock will go about their business with only minor altercations at the fence line. Over a few days, all the birds will pretty much ignore each other unless you have roosters in each pen. Within the first week, a pecking order will be established through vocalization, scent and also pecking through the fencing. After 2 weeks you can open the pens up to each other and let the birds mingle. Do this at a time when you can be present. Your established flock will want to get into the transition pen to see what they have been missing out on. The new birds will come out into your main pen and stay in a group to themselves. There may be some minor pecking but just break them up and they will soon go on their way. When night time comes, allow your new birds to return to their area for roosting at least for the first couple of days. After this time you can then remove the transition pen or leave it for future use. This is how we transition all our birds and it works for us every time.