I know we all have seen tons of these questions, but im afraid that the situation is different for all age flocks. I have browsed the forum, but everyone seems to think something different! I have 5 1-month old chicks that are still in their brooder, and 6 1-year old hens. Advice?
Weather your watching or not. They will establish a new pecking order. Just watch for damage on all the birds. You are bound to loose a feather or two in this process. Just make sure to keep an eye out for tissue damage. I wouldn't integrate until at least 7 weeks of age myself to. Also your best to distract the older Hens with some kind of treat while introducing the others.
If you can, it is best to wait to integrate until 4 months of age, from my experience. If you don't have the setup for it and are desperate, I might try it a little earlier. You can always put them inside a dog carrier inside the coop or inside the garage to sleep at night (to keep them alive during the night) if they free range together successfully before then. They should ideally be about the same size before integrating. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock here is a nice BYC page on it- scroll down for adding to flock
