I have 8 adult hens and 24) 9 week old mostly pullets with a few roos. Both flocks have their own coops both of which are in a large fenced in run. The new flock was put into their coop at 5 weeks. I partitioned the run in half with a temporary see through fence so both flocks have seen each other for about 4 weeks now. I let the adult hens out of the run to free range for about 3 to 4 hours every evening. At what point can I take down the partition fence in the run and mix the flocks? My other question is, can I let the new flock free range at this point and will they automatically come back to the run at dusk?
