integrated

Well.

No more baby chicks;

they're all just chickens now.

Sunday night 

when the kids and I were putting up the chicks,

(who were becoming increasingly belligerent about the whole 'carry the chicks in and out' part of our daily routine)

they decided they didn't want to stay in their pen.

I felt like they were still so small to integrate

(12 and 13 weeks, I think?)

but I was getting tired of the whole carry the chicks while they fight it part of our routine,

so I figured we could give it a whirl.

Things didn't go real super at first;

the big chickens instantly started pecking on the little ones.

What?! It was night time - they were supposed to be calm.

We had a big ole ruckus going on in the coop for awhile

with chicks trying to get away from hens

and me bopping and scolding said hens

while trying to get the babies in a safe roosting spot

while hens tried to get at the chicks.

Tyler and I ended up 

(okay, so Tyler ended up)

chopping some branches that the UPS drivers knocked out of our oak tree into roosts

and screwed them securely into the coop,

so the little ones could have their own roosting space - away from the big chickens.

I went out at 6:40 yesterday,

a little anxious about what I might find.

But they were all perfectly okay.

:-)

The little ones stuck real close together all day,

and had a little trouble figuring out what to do when it came time for bed,

but I think they're going to be just fine.