Added six new 3 year old hens to my four 5 year old hens

[Love my chicken girls]

4 days ago I added 6 new hens (3 yrs old) to my already 4 (5 yrs old) hens.

I've kept them locked up in the run together since. 2nd night they all slept in the coop together. Big accomplishment!
My question is how much longer should I keep them in the run without free range? My girls are chasing away the new ones but sleeping in the coop. I feel the fight for head hen may have already been established. Any help is appreciated. I feel bad they are locked up but also don't want to ruin the work that we've done.

 

[Leihamarie]

I wouldn't put them together for the first introduction. I usually let them see each other for at LEAST a week through a fence (look/not touch) while feeding both sides treats to associate seeing each other as "good things happen." then I put each side's food up against the fence so they're "eating" together (still not able to touch each other). THEN after AT LEAST a week of having them get to know each other through the fence, I let them free-range in the yard together and see if the newbies will follow the established flock into the coop at the end of the night. If not, no problem. They get to come back inside (or wherever I have had them sleeping separately from the established flock).

After a week of successfully free-ranging together I'll sneak the newbies onto the coop roosts well after dark and then keep watch for the next week or so to break up any serious fights that might take place (which I find happen most often at roost time and first thing in the morning). This process has been extremely successful for me so far. There was only one time that I threw newbies in without a gentle/gradual intro process and that was when I had a single, lonely hen who had just lost her whole flock.

 

[Love my chicken girls]

Thank you. I put them in last monday night. Around 10pm. Everything seems to be going ok. Looks like one of my older girls took head spot. They all go in the coop at night and noone is singled out. My heas hen chasing the new ones away at times but that's it.

 

[Leihamarie]

Ah, okay. In that case, I'd let them all free-range. 4 days in the coop/run is usually all it generally takes to let them know where "home" is.

 

[Love my chicken girls]

Ok, well... adding one more today. Do i wait until tonight or just put her in the run when they are distracted with food. Also, do i still let them roam today?

This one was with the 6 but she ran and we couldn't catch her. So they should recognize her.