adding 13 weeks old pullets to 34 week old pullets, bad idea?

[FabulousMandy]

Ok here's the situation.

I have four 13 week olds (GLW, EE, Polish and a Hamburg) and two 34 weeks olds ('Lorp and a Sex Link).

The two older gals live in a coop that's roughly 5'x8' and have an adjacent run that's 12'x10'. Very comfy accommodations if I do say so myself.

The 13 weeks olds, however, are seriously running out of room in their wire brooder and I have to give them more room, like soon. I really wanted to wait until the babies were 16-18 weeks old before I put them into the coop so they'd at least be a more comparable size to the big girls, but time is a luxury we just don't have, since they're already too big to still be in their brooder at 13 weeks. There's no way I can keep them in there any longer.

I've been letting them all free range together over the last month. The big girls are jerks and like to chase the babies around and bully them away from treats and water and whatnot, but other than a couple of minor squabbles we haven't had any real incidents. A few feathers lost, but the babies learned quickly to run when the big girls come anywhere near them. Generally, though, the big girls keep to themselves and the babies stick together and the two groups more or less ignore one another.

But that's free ranging. Combining them into closed quarters that happen to be the marked territory of some pretty territorial birds is, well, pretty freaking scary to even think about, much less carry out. And tonight was supposed to be D-Day (or evening, as it were), but I think I'm chickening out (no pun intended). I mean, I know they're going to fight and establish their pecking order, but all I can picture is waking up tomorrow morning to find corpses with pecked out eyes.

The babies are big, I just wonder if they're big enough.

Should I just do it? Are 13 weekers big enough to tolerate the "hazing"? Please, any and all advice is appreciated!

 

[Sillystunt]

they need to be the same size. I am having the same problem! I made a chicken tractor and have been putting them next to the run so they can meet through the wire. I tried to put them in and they went after them. SOmeone also sugested when you do put them together, do so at night.

 

[ponchiepeepsDH]

The other thing to think about is feed. Are you feeding your big girls a laying mix, like purina layena? Purina says to start them at 18-20 weeks. It may be to early to start your 13 week olds on it. I have our 13 week olds still separate, because I haven't figured out a way to keep their food separate. We did just introduce our 20 week olds with our adults. DO it at night, less stress for everyone. Didn't see any fighting in the coop, maybe it's hallowed ground

. However the juvies didn't leave the coop until the adults were let out to free range. They definitely act different in the yard as compared at night on the roosts.

 

[Freebird]

Quote:
If you are feeding the main flock a laying mix and need to add some younger birds, you could switch to standard feed and provide free choice oyster shell as an alternative to laying feed, at least until the younger ones are closer to laying age...at least that's what I've been doing.

 

[Marion]

There is a great page about this topic! Have a look, I hope it helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

 

[goldenluver]

since they already know each other you should be able to add them in. What I did is build a brooder under my nesting boxes that has a door that I can bungie closed.
I placed a brick or two between the opening and then bungied so only the smaller girls can get in away from the big girls. I placed 5 6 week old in with 15 12 week olds.
I started first with them shut in the brooder for a week so they could get used to the sight of each other, You are already past that part.
I also have 2 turkeys that are the same age as the first set of girls (actually 14 girls 1 roo) the turkeys were more what I worried about.
the first week or so the 5 young ones stayed in side the coop with food and water in the brooder as well as what the bigs have in the coop as well.
They exploredthe inside of the coop and nesting boxes as well as the perches that are really high while the older girls were out side.
after another week or so they would come ouside and were chased alot, but they learned to stay away from the others a keep a safe distance from them.
The first few weeks they didn't get very many of the treets.
Now the big girls a 17 weeks and the young girls are maybe 12 weeks?
they now stand up for themselve sometimes against some of the big girls that are lower in the pecking order and are doing fine.

 

[FabulousMandy]

Quote:
I was thinking about doing something like this, like maybe get a small wooden box and cut an opening that's only big enough for the small girls to get in and out. My DH seems to think they wouldn't be smart enough to go hide in there if the big girls were bothering them, but if my stupid little hamburg is smart enough to hide under our neighbors house whenever I come outside to corral them back into the brooder I think they'd figure it out

.