Adding to my flock - is this a good plan?

[kara1015]

I currently have 4 Golden Comets that recently starting laying, got them a month ago... I am planning on adding 4-5 black sexlinks this weekend, they are 14 weeks old. The comets have their beaks clipped, I bought them that way. :/ The new birds do not. I was planning on putting all the chickens in our large fenced in area for the day, then hopefully put them all to bed at night. Does this sound like a good plan? I would be horrified if something happened to any of the birds and am still very new to this. Any other suggestions are welcome. I only have one coop, and don't have another place to put the new pullets overnight, etc.

Thanks!!

 

[kellysmall87]

They should get on but it's inevitable that they will peck to establish hierarchy. When I added to my flock, I fenced off half the garden (as they're just free to roam) with chicken wire and so the adult chickens had the bottom half of the garden and the young chicks had the top half. I bought the chicks a rabbit hutch, this will suffice as a second coup. Then they could see each other for a week or two before I mixed them. This worked for me. Still pecking occurs though occasionally.