putting chicks in with older hens?

[Jax]

Hiya, so as some of you read we have gotten an unexpected lot of chicks. We have 4 pekin bantams of types and 4 wellsummers. The pekin bantams are aprox 16 weeks and the wellsummers are about 10 weeks old. The pekins are fully feathered with their boots and good sized combs etc. The wellsummers are partially feathered, their feathers are still quite spikey and the have bald bellies and under their wings so they have a way to go yet. However, the pekins I had hoped would be ok to go straight into the big pen as everywhere I read it said once they were fully feathered. I have tried twice and both times the same thing happens. I put them in and most of the chickens have abit of a peck, which is fine as its bound to happen, however one of my larger hens (Molly) really goes for them. I have watched her and she seems to be plucking their feathers and eating them. If any of the others feathers com out of the other chooks in the run she will also eat them but she doesnt pluck them. We have tried leaving them for a while to see if she calms down and she doesnt. If we take her out they are fine, as we tried it earlier and I walked around the garden with her in my arms for not far off of an hour! As I say abit of a peck here and there but nothing too bad. The strange thing is, in normal she is the most placid chicken and is brilliantly behaved. How am I going to get these chicks in there without her pecking at them. We have added lots of grown up chickens and she ignores them.

[jps]

i read somewhere once about wiping a small amount of vinegar on each bird, old and new so they all smell the same and to sneak the new ones in at night.

not tried it myself tho

[Jax]

The vinegar thing makes sense, the only thing that worries me is that if I added them at night I wouldnt be able to monitor things. I extended the run today in anticipation of my new additions and I am going to find some sort of hideaway for them similar to what someone else done on here (cant remembe who though) which was an upturned dog bed ontop of tyres.

[Glutton4...]

I would suggest that you add the Babies, but take out the Bully first. Put her where the Babies were for a few days (a week?) then re-introduce her. She won't be Boss Hen then. Good luck!

[Jax]

The wellsummers wont be coming out yet though as they are still tiny babies. The only thing I could think is borrowing a big cat carrier from his parents but I dont think I could keep her in it for a week

[RichmondHens]

The Welsummers should stay separate until 18 weeks ideally when they can change to layers pellet (they should be fed on grower pellet until then). The pekins are probably ok at 16 weeks to go in with the older hens. Pekins as you have found out are very small in comparison to most other chickens (I only have one pekin but she is smaller than all my other bantams let alone big hens) so will always get bullied unless you get a particularly feisty one. I'm surprised at 16 weeks they already have good sized combs though, are you sure they are girls?

Have you wormed all the newcomers. It's a good idea to do that before mixing them all up, unless you plan on doing all the chickens at the same time.

Another thing, are you sure the Welsummers are really 10 weeks? Grower chicks are fully feathered at 6 - 7 weeks especially at this time of year. If they still have fluff they may be younger than you think. Another reason to keep them separate till their immune systems have matured a bit more. Keep them nearby, but not in with, the other chickens so they all get used to seeing and hearing each other. You should be able to sex the Welsummers now - if they are growing black feathers on their breasts they are male, brown feathers will be female.

[Jax]

To be honest the people that turned up with them claimed the wellsummers were 16 weeks. At which point I stifled a giggle and said no chance the oldest I would have guessed would be 10 weeks. The pekins combs arent huge but they are nicely formed if you see what I mean. I worm and dust for mites and lice as anything enters my run! I will take a couple of piccies and post them so you can see. If it werent for Molly going nuts at them I wouldnt have a problem with them going in. My other pekins get a peck here and there but only if they are trying to take food from another.

[Jax]

Here we are. There is only one of the wellsummers as it wouldnt upload them but they look the same anyway. The others are the "pekins" what do you reckon? Any boys in there?

[RichmondHens]

Pekins: pics 1 & 2 female 3 & 4 male (assuming they are the same age - combs and wattles much more pronounced on 3 & 4). What colour pekin are they supposed to be - there's a real mixture in there, they are quite possibly not pure bred. Petal on here breeds pekins, she will be able to tell you for certain.

I'm not sure that is a Welsummer tbh, it's a bit difficult to tell from the angle of photo, but the feathering appears too red. Could be a cross. Can you get a pic of them just in the run, and from side on as well as front?

[Jax]

I will try but I found one from earlier that I took with her (hopefully a her!!!) that may help. Thats what I thought you would say I dont know the age is their a way of telling sooner than if she/he lays an egg They came saying they were black pekins and the different coloured a seabright bantam but straight away I disagreed with that one. Was just a tricky situation and they were kind of put upon us otherwise I would never get birds I know so little about. I will have to start banning these people from coming round as they were the ones that bought the big white ones round that I had to rehome!!!!! Grrrrrrr

When the chicks have been in chickies 1 + 2 are fine whilst 3 + 4 are attacked. Havent tried any of the "wellsummers" as they are further behind.

[RichmondHens]

Do they just give the chickens to you or do you have to pay for them? Where do they come from? Have to say sounds a bit dodgy!!

Despite the brown breast feathering I am still inclined to think that pic is of a cock as there are flecks of black appearing in the feather and the wings look too "colourful" to be female. Sometimes the breast feathers can come through initially brown and then the secondary feathers come through black. However from that second pic he does look like he might be a pure breed, at least. Hope I'm wrong for your sake but I have my doubts. Agree with you they are probably only about 10 weeks.

Just looking at the pics again the comb is rather larger than I would expect for a pullet as well.

[Jax]

She is the MIL and turned up, opened her boot sayin "look what I have!" She had bought them at auction and her hubby was asleep in the car. She had a big plan of growing them up and selling them on at POL. FIL woke up and kicked off that she wasnt having them, so to calm things I said I would take them.

No offence intended but I really hope your wrong. I love these little chicks and I simply cant have a rooster. I will have to sell them if they are boys and it is starting to seem as if 6 out of the 8 are boys!! We will have to see I think.

[RichmondHens]

Hmmmm. Unfortunately auctions are where a lot of people try and shift unwanted cockerels, often when they're youngsters so the unwary/inexperienced can't tell what sex they are.

I really hope I'm wrong too (and I'm not offended btw) but I suspect your MIL has been done.

[petal]

Hmm, the majority of your photos say mixed breed cockerels to me- sorry! Where are the black pekins?pop some clear, feet, sides and head photos on here and I can tell 100% if they are pekins, boy or girl.
If you are a first time chicken keeper - young birds are absolutely not a good idea- 3 or 4 hybrids, tough, sturdy things would be best. I would very much like to have a word with the nincompoop that keeps bringing you these birds- are they trying to put you off poultry keeping??!! They are overwhelming you with mixed ages of birds, with different requirements and thus overcomplicating what ought to be a really fun time for you keeping some nice chickens. Unfortunately the auction birds could have all sorts of diseases, I won't touch an auction with a barge pole, buy cheap, buy twice.
Well, if they are male after Rh and i have verified the photos ask the person to take the lot back. The auction boys will have to be despatched unless they are a proper breed. you won't even be able to give them away. Find a reputable breeder- someone that is on here that lives near you can let you know of one and get some nice, different coloured hybrids. after a year of keeping them, look out for a couple of full grown pekins to add to your flock. Good luck!

[Jax]

pics 1+2 are what they claimed were the black pekins. The trouble is when I got my girls I said to OH that I would rather spend more money but get the right birds. He however is of a very different mind and likes to buy cheap. Despite my constant "I want to find them myself and get the right girls" he "asked around" for cheap chickens. This then opened the door for anything and everything to turn up. Luckily the main girls we have all get on fabulously and are no trouble what so ever but these chicks are causing so much hassle. I will get clear pics for you and I am having a serious word with the inlaws. It has to stop! I only wanted my 4 girls and then in the future a couple of blue hybrids and light sussex hybrids. Ah well.