1 week old pullets with 7 month old pullet?

[SouthofEden]

So after 7 months of raising chicks, I returned 2 roosters to the farm I got them from. They really have no clue about chickens at all. I have one pullet left in the coop by herself. She seems lonely and I wanted more than one anyway. After searching, found a farm that does nothing but poultry and drove an hour today to pick up some companions for our "Becky". They only had 1 week old chicks and they assured me that they are 95% sure they are pullets. Got 1 Barred Rock, 1 Buff Orp, 1 RI Red and 1 New Hamp Red. How can I (at what age) start to integrate them together? Not all birds are in this picture

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's a big age difference. I would wait until the new ones no longer need extra heat before trying to combine them. I would house them side by side for a while so the older one get used to seeing them. It may go easier because the older one will be lonely.

 

[SouthofEden]

That's a big age difference. I would wait until the new ones no longer need extra heat before trying to combine them. I would house them side by side for a while so the older one get used to seeing them. It may go easier because the older one will be lonely.

Being in Florida where it is warmer outside than in, we don't use heat lamps. I have them in the garage right now where it is toasty warm. I would like to put them in the coop with the older gal but keep them in their own closed off pen. Then hopefully they can "visit" get to know each other? Maybe in a few weeks they could be together. I really was hoping I could purchase an older girl. No one around seems to have any they want to part with.

 

[Lani loo]

I know very little but from my understanding of introduction, it's great to have them separated by wire fencing so they can see and hear each other for a couple of days. I'd maybe wait until youre happy for the chicks to freerange and introduce them formally on neutral ground. I picked up four pullets (6-9 weeks) 2 per pick up and did the above and so far (2weeks ago) we have no issues. Observation is key, I wouldn't introduce them and then head out to work for the day, maybe on a weekend where you can hang out and watch for the day x

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Being in Florida where it is warmer outside than in, we don't use heat lamps. I have them in the garage right now where it is toasty warm. I would like to put them in the coop with the older gal but keep them in their own closed off pen. Then hopefully they can "visit" get to know each other? Maybe in a few weeks they could be together. I really was hoping I could purchase an older girl. No one around seems to have any they want to part with.

This is a great idea. Supervise all interactions. I had a rough time getting chicks 2 weeks apart together this past summer. Hopefully it goes easy.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

I personally would wait until they are 12-15 weeks. I have an article on chicken integration on my page. Best wishes!

-Chatty

 

[SouthofEden]

I personally would wait until they are 12-15 weeks. I have an article on chicken integration on my page. Best wishes!

-Chatty

Oh Thanks so much I will read it.

 

[lazy gardener]

@azygous is the queen of early integration, and has an excellent article about her use of the "panic room" set up. You can certainly set them up in their coop in a safe area. As for the farmer being 95% certain that he gave you all pullets, I'd take that with a huge grain of salt unless he vent sexed them. BR can be auto sexing, but the other three? Not so.

 

[SouthofEden]

@azygous is the queen of early integration, and has an excellent article about her use of the "panic room" set up. You can certainly set them up in their coop in a safe area. As for the farmer being 95% certain that he gave you all pullets, I'd take that with a huge grain of salt unless he vent sexed them. BR can be auto sexing, but the other three? Not so.

Thanks I will look up her article too. He said he got them from a hatchery. They came sexed. He said they are usually correct in their sexing but that they sometimes get it wrong. Then he looked at different things like tail, feathers and vent and confirmed that he thought they were correct (the hatchery) I guess I should have asked which hatchery they came from but didn't think of it at the time.
I've been reading everyone articles on introduction and I will definitely keep my new girls apart for probably a couple of months. They need to get bigger. In the mean time I found some pullets I have to drive 3 hours one way to get tomorrow morning. But they are so beautiful I can't resist. And they are close to my single BO pullets age. I will keep them separate for a quarantine period but then I will be able to integrate them much sooner than the little peeps. I'm just worried my lone girl will become to adjusted to single life before I can get her "flocked" again.

 

[lazy gardener]

You're adding birds from multiple sources. This can be risky business, and can bring disease into your flock that can either be lethal, or may be impossible to eradicate from your flock once your flock is exposed. Some diseases are "forever" while others are the disease that keeps on giving, infecting successive generations. Just something you might want to take into consideration.

Also, while the minimum recommendation of space for a back yard flock is 4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird, IMO it requires more space than that to successfully integrate.