adding new chicks

so i have some chicks that are like 3 months old (look full grown) 2 rhode island whites and 2 Jersey giants
I have got some others that are now about a 5 weeks old and full feathers are in 2 rhode island reds and 2 gold sexlinks
When can i let them together?
I have put the brooder in the coop now for about a week so they sleep and hang out in the coop together but seperate
i let them take turns out in the run
I did put the 4 lil ones out there and let ONE white out at the same time
they seem to kind of hold their own but when i let both whites out with the lil ones they DID seem to gang up on the lil ones playin in the sun
so WHEN or HOW should i integrate them?
HELP?????

Give the little ones another 2 weeks to grow big enough to handle the bigger ones. By 7 to 8 weeks, the size difference won't be so great. They will be able to handle pecking order scuffles much better.

These are the first set they are like 4 months? born in November



These are the ones about 5 6 weeks old

With the panic room method, you can integrate them right away.

A panic room is a safe pen or other enclosure in the run with openings small enough for the chicks to fit but the older ones can't. Since you've already been letting them get acquainted, they are ready to mingle.

You will place them in the safe pen with their food and water for the day and let them become used to being there. Then open the small entrances, and make sure there are more than one so they can easily find their way back inside when they panic.

I make the openings about 5 x 7 inches. It will accommodate them until three months of age. Also, it's very important to make sure there are no dead ends or corners where a chick can get trapped by a larger bird. If you provide lots of perches and stumps for them to hop onto, that helps cut down the chances of chicks being trapped and injured.

Another problem with merging chicks with older birds is that the older ones will try to keep the chicks away from food and water, so that's why you want them to have a safe place for those essentials.

After they get used to using their panic room, you can then safely move them into the coop.

I had a mean chicken so it helped in taking her out when I integrated my 7 chicks. I was able to integrate 2, 11 week old bantams along with 5 other chicks to my 4 adults. I kept each in a pen side by side for about 1.5 months. Then I integrated 3 adults with the 7 chicks, kept the mean one out for about 2 days. When I put the mean one back in, she was fine with the youngsters.
At 5 Weeks, chickens in general are a little scrawny to be picked on. If those were mine, I'd wait another 2-3 weeks before adding them. The good thing is that your older chickens are not fully grown, nor are they full size so that makes the integration precess easier for the little ones.

Just went through this process!