Adding adult hen to juvenile flock?

[Mamaporter]

I’m a new chicken mama so this may sound like a dumb question...

Can I add an adult hen to my flock? The hen is around a year old and my babies are between 1.5-3 months old.

I have 3 Easter Egger cockerels I posted on a local chicken group and someone offered to trade one of their pullets for mine. This sounds like a wonderful idea, but I don’t want to end up in a situation with a hen that’s not happy or a bully to my littles..

What would you do?

ETA: a few of the photos he sent me look like they may be cockerels, too. I’m not exactly knowledgeable enough to tell the difference quite yet and I don’t want to get duped into taking another rooster lol

 

[chkva]

I would do the see but not touch method... Have the hen in an area where she can see the younger ones but not touch them. This will allow them to get to know each other before you put them all in the same area without a barrier.

Usually when I get older ones, I quarantine them for a little while so that they are not with my healthy chickens right off and I can tell if they are sick. Then I do the see not touch method.

 

[Stacyoung13]

As above said, but also make sure to have plenty of hiding/safe places for your young ones. Good luck

 

[chkva]

If you have the pics he sent you, post them on this thread and everyone can determine if they're pullets or not.

I understand not wanting to be duped... I got 4 Olive Eggers from day 1 and was told all were pullets. At 12 weeks I realized they were roosters, I tried to keep them but once they reach sexual maturity things got crazy I had to get rid of all 3 which left me with only 1 chicken. I basically stopped trusting breeders in my area and now I only buy from my local farm that guarantees their sexing.

 

[aart]

Agrees... post the pics he sent you here ans we'll help ID them.

Another risk is bringing disease and/or pests into your flock.
It's ok to say no to the trade if you're not comfortable with it.
I find it a bit suspicious that someone wants to give you a pullet for a cockerel