Keeping Chickens Newsletter

(i.e. a partition within the coop if there is enough room for them to be comfortable). That way they can get used to each other. Then after a week or so you would mix them in together - this is best done at night. Waking up together seems to make integration easier. Some people just go straight to the mixing them in together at night. However you do it, there will probably be a little bit of scuffling for a pecking order, but that is quite normal. As with any flock you will just need to keep an eye on things to make sure that there is no one being singled out and picked on and everyone is getting a chance to eat and drink. If by chance one of the chickens is pecked where blood is drawn then that in itself can attract pecking attacks from all the others and so it should be seperated until healed.

15th June "Well we put the two flocks together Friday night in the rain. When they woke up Patrick and I let them out into their 30' pen. We took a cleaned mineral barrel and cut an entrance hole and several small vent holes around the top of the barrel (so that all 7 chicks could get into it when the rooster BPR goes on the attack). The older group is going after the male RIR and leaving the hens alone.

Christy Weick's tan mineral tub turned into a hiding place for the RIRs

Patrick kept a close eye on them yesterday. When night came we put the BPR into the coop first and then around 9:00 we put the RIR into a cat taxis cage without the gate and placed the cage into the coop (In case they need protection). We place several water tanks and feed bins for the chicks to get a bite while they work things out. We throw a lot of garden scraps for the