Adding chicks to flock

[gonechickcrazy]

Hello, I have 8 hens and 2 roosters that are 15 weeks old. Is it to early to add them in with the rest of our flock? They are in a separate room in the coop with a screen door separating them and the runs are separated by a fence. A couple of the hens have already started laying.
Thanks

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I would try it. Sounds like you had them meet already and they have been seeing each other so go ahead and try it but watch them for a while to make sure no one gets hurt. What I do is add the OLDER ones to the younger ones one at a time and see how it goes. If one attacks I grab it's tail and hang them upside down just for a second. They go back no more then three times to attack and that is it. It's less likely they will attack them in THEIR territory. After they all meet then you can move them back in the coop you want them in. I just did this tonight and the meeting went VERY smooth. Two pecks and then everyone was good

 

[anir dendroica]

If you have a rooster in the established flock, keep a close eye on how he treats the young roos. In our case, the old rooster pecked our young roo down to the exposed skull, and we were forced to butcher. I suspect most roos are less prone to unprovoked attacks, but I know we will be more careful in the future.