8 wk olds with 3 wk olds, need advice please

[pixiedouglas]

I have 11 (all standard breeds) 8 week olds living in the coop and run. They have a pretty big run and are also allowed out in the yard part of the day supervised since they are still teenagers.

I also have 3 (more standards) 3 week olds still in the brooder box in the garage. Before the big girls moved outside they were in a pen and box beside each other, but seperate. This weekend it was very warm so I put the little ones in the yard in a fenced pen next to the big chicken run and they spent three days several hours each day outside and loved it. The big girls seemed to mostly ignore them except I saw them a few times stick their heads in to nibble the grass the little ones were on. This seemed more exciting to the little ones than the big ones. Except when I gave the little ones a watermelon scrap to play with that didn't go over very well even though my big girls got all the rest of the watermelon scraps for goodness sake.

I took one of the 3 week olds out with me and a few of the older girls were nearby scratching. The little one (Huckleberry) ran up and stood next to the older girl (Ruby) and all the big girls stared at the little girl for a few moments like "what on earth"? and then went back to what they were doing.

So my plan was when they get to about five weeks I will put the big wire pen inside the chicken run and put the littles inside it so they can all see each other. I thought I would do this for about a week? and put the little ones inside at night seperate from the big girls. After a week I thought I'd let them range together during the day and see how it goes. Then if that goes ok I'll put the little ones in the coop with the big girls at night and that should be it?

Is that safe? I'm worried that even if they behave during the day maybe after I close that coop door they might get beat up, but I can't keep them seperate much longer than that because they're going to outgrow their brooder box. Does my plan seem sound?

I need suggestions and advice please! thank you!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I bet they'll be fine.

~Aspen

 

[Snegurochka]

It will probably go smoothly. Personally I would wait two weeks but I'm overly paranoid. I don't remember at the moment what 8-10 week olds look like but I don't think they're very aggressive yet at that age.

My suggestion to you is to make sure that you have a place in the coop for the little ones to run, just in case. We used to stretch chicken wire across one side of the coop and have the edge just close enough to the floor that the little ones could get under but the big ones couldn't. More recently I've stuck a milk crate in the corner, and showed the little ones how to run behind it. If you're willing to spend money you could also use a plastic tub and cut a hole in the side, sort of like a nest box.

 

[VelvettFog]

I teach my little ones judo. When they get rushed by an older bird, they execute a hip throw and the problem is solved

 

[pixiedouglas]

Quote:
LOL With these three little Easter Eggers that just might be possible! They really seem a little more spunky that my older girls.

 

[pixiedouglas]

Quote:
Giving them a place to hide in the coop sounds like a good idea, I will have to think about what kind of box I could put in there.

My older girls don't seem super aggressive yet when they've seen the little ones. Nothing compared to what they do when the blue jay shows up and tries to get into their food.

 

[pixiedouglas]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

I bet they'll be fine.

~Aspen

thank you!