Adding 2 month old pullets to 3 month old pullet flock

[kunsangsean]

I got 4, seven week old pullets last week and I'm excited to have chickens again. Two easter eggers, one olive egger, and a blue laced red wyandotte. So far they seem to be getting along well. I am already wanting more chickens, and thinking about getting 2 more, possibly a Wheaten Ameraucana and a splash Australorp for some lighter colored birds. Maybe a BC Maran for chocolate eggs, but I have read mixed things on their temperaments.

They have a fully enclosed run that's 140 square feet. From what I have read, 140 square feet seems like it should be a good amount of space for 6 birds - though more is always better. Generally, I want their fully enclosed run to be adequate space in case I have to leave them in there for long vacations / busy times at home. I plan to build a 3 x 6 ft chicken tractor to let the birds into some days to forage the yard without wrecking my garden.

If I get 2 more pullets a month from now, I'd have 4, three month old birds and 2, two month old birds. Are those close enough in age that they should integrate easily? Or does it not really work like that?

 

[sourland]

In my experience, the younger the birds the easier the integration. Personalities vary so degree of skirmishing also does.

 

[JedJackson]

There will inevitably be fighting, but it's usually much less extreme when the birds being integrated are young.

The usual way we recommend integrating birds is to put a small enclosure for the new birds in the run, so that they can all see each other but not touch. Leave the newbies in the enclosure for up to two weeks, but observe them. If they seem to mostly ignore each other, you can integrate earlier.

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

I’d get them now, so the others aren’t as established yet. Last year when I was setting up my flock I added new chickens 3 times with zero issues, it was all within the same month or so and my original girls were still young.

 

[Mrs. K]

Your run seems wide open, add some clutter, roosts, platforms, hideouts, sawhorses, pallets, mini walls, places where birds can get out of sight, but I too think sooner than latter.