6+8 week olds in the run!

[Gonzo]

Ok, for the last month I've been putting the babies out in the run in a sectioned off area. I figured this would give them more room, and let them get familer with the other chickens. This morning we put them out as usual, and I took the kids to school, when I got home the fence and come loose, and the babies are in with the older birds! Should I seperate them again? I had checked on them, and everything looked fine, theres the ocassional peck from the big girls, I'm not real sure what to think about it. Should I leave them? Or do you think if they do ok, I could even let them go in the big coop tonight? The Comets I have are just a little bit smaller than the grown ups, but the 6 week olds are still a bit smaller.... IDK

 

[pattypenny]

no, you need not seperate them, a fence is the way to interduce new chickens into the flock, they see each other and get used to each other then remove the fence. this is how I put new chickens into my flock.

 

[sonjab314]

When in doubt......better safe than sorry.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

I just posted about this on another topic. My 8 week olds were in with my big girls over the weekend and nothing happened. They had been isolated in the run and we also had some netting under the poop board so they were also isolated there. I was thinking I just had exceptional chickens because no fighting occurred. As a matter of fact the lowest grown up girl would just herd them around a little and that was about it. I did put them back into isolation, but this weekend will put them all out together when I can keep a close eye on them. One chick is smaller and I don't want anyone to get any funny ideas about her. One of the babies is a roo and he runs away from the big girls like a "Chicken".