When to Integrate Pullets

The hen boudoir.



Weird chicken on the (then) new 2x4 roost



Two very determined hens that want to lay on the poop board under the little roost.



Chicken stairs (a bit poopy, but that's what chickens do)

LOVE that weird chicken!!!

My poop shelf is only about 6" below the roost.... just enough space for the dust pan to scoop underneath - not enough for silly hens to want to lay...... although there is this one hen that waits till it's in DIRE need of a cleaning and then decides it's the perfect spot for her egg.....

I integrate at 20 weeks, during the night. We also give them a safe place to hide out from the big kids. Something low to the ground. Just enough space for the littles.
We have 2 more hatches...of 3 this summer. The first ones were end of April/first of May, the 2. Second ones were July 7th, the third ones..August 3rd. We have them all over the calendar!

I like that weird chicken too! I have a stump near one roost, and a concrete block near the lower roost, for the chickens to use as a spring board up to the roosts. They line up to use the stump, silly girls.

ooops...where did I come up with 20 weeks. I think I meant 2 months.....
That's what I get for trying to compose a sentence when I am not feeling well. I was watching the chickens today, as I have had 3 hatches this summer. Broody cuts them off at 5 weeks.....then we integrate them at 8 weeks.

Wow moxies, you integrate them at a young age. I will wait till they are 18 weeks. This way they will be bigger and hopefully won't get picked so much by the older hens. They don't have as much room as I would like so they have to be abe to fend for themselves.

Mary

The easiest and best solution is to have the old hens attend a hot tub party and the new pullets attend a crash party in the old Kentucky home.

Yesterday evening I integrated my 3 pullets with the 4 older hens. Well pecking, screeching, and drama is still going on today. My poor speckle sussex already has her some tail feathers missing and I saw some raw skin. I'm out there as much as I can with my stick and watching them. Everyone is pecking except her. She is so sweet. I picked her up and placed her on a ladder that we built hoping they would use it as an escape. She was fine there for a while until one of the other pullets decided to jump up there to join her and then started pecking her after a while. I guess all I can do is see how it goes. I'm hoping that in another day or so they will have settled down. On the up side, one of my pullets laid her first egg! This was the pullet that bit me hard on my leg and broke my skin! Ugggg...the joys of chicken keeping.

Mary

Mary, you tell those mean girls that they are invited to a chicken and dumplings dinner!

Yep. It was at 8 weeks. We put them on the roosts when it is dark, and I make sure to watch the flock the next morning when they all go outside and wonder who the new birds are. We also give them a low hiding place, to get away from the bullies.