Chicken Integration
September 28th, 2014 · No Comments · Posted in farming
For the past four months, we’ve been raising Rhode Island Red hens to replace the layers that were snatched by foxes in the spring. Like the broilers we raise, these new hens have been traveling around our pastures in big cages or “tractors” toward a date when they would be big enough to join the established flock.
Well, that moment has arrived. But since I had never co-mingled chickens of different ages before, I consulted the highest authorities I could think of to avoid a debacle.
I got great advice. Even Joel Salatin, the pasture livestock guru, replied to my query, suggesting I provide separate feeders, separate waterers, even separate living quarters to avoid a culture clash among the hens. “The point is to not force them to integrate,” Salatin advised. “Let them do it on their scheduled comfort level.”
I was especially concerned because the coop we use is just a big box on wheels. I could not imagine tossing in unfamiliar birds and closing the door behind them. So in the dark of night we gathered a few of the new hens at a time, clipped their wings so they wouldn’t flee over the temporary fencing we have set up in the orchard, and delivered them to their new home in our arms by flashlight.
We placed them in the grass under the coop and left the door to the coop open, hoping they would all be I one piece the following morning. They were.
So far, we’ve introduced 10 new hens to the established flock without any casualties. The new birds do tend to stay to themselves, but at night they hop into the coop with the others. Though, unlike the older birds, the young hens haven’t yet figured out they’re supposed to spend the night on one of the roosts we built into the coop.
I’m sure they’ll learn soon enough. It’s almost time for them to start providing us with eggs as well.
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