I have an existing flock of chickens, two roosters and three females. The roosters were raised together (obviously). We are getting six rhode island reds on June 11th. I'm not sure how old they will be but I'm expecting one to two weeks. I am going to build a completely separate run for them (and two bantam chickens I have that are very small anyway) accessible via a separate door. That will keep them separated from the rest of the flock until they are more fully grown. Sounds okay? I've read a lot about the subject but how old should they be before I introduce them into the same coop as the others? I am planning on building a separate area in the coop for them that only they will be able to access, the bigger ones won't be able to get in there. I'm hoping that will work. I want to raise them inside but I have cats to deal with so I may have to put them in my shed (it's BIG) until such time as they can stay in the coop and their own run. How long until then? I don't know! Help appreciated.
This has worked for us 3 times now: Up to 8 week in the house with the brooder and heat lamp At 8 weeks, we move them into this brooder outside with the heat lamp We leave them in there until they are fully feathered. You can see it is right next to the roost (to the left), so the chicks are visible to the other birds but separated to avoid injury. They are usually in there to about 12 weeks. To the left of the brooder, we cut a small opening in the wire and open it during the day, so the chicks can get in and out but the bigger birds won't fit in - a safety net so to speak. We keep that open for 4 weeks, and then put them in with the flock. There is the normal pecking order business but we have not ever had an injured bird following this method. Good luck!!!!
