"Babies" are 9 week old today..now what?

[jenni22776rn]

I know there this has been asked before..but could not find the post..I have two 9 week BO "chicks"...they have been going out during the day in my rabbit hutch turned chicken coop modified just for these chicks -it was made for multiple rabbits and I changed the wire bottom to wood(Shh don't tell my bunny I did that to his hutch) they have their own roost and plenty of room to run around with their own house to sleep in..my question is...when can I introducd them to my adult hens outside? I have 3 adult hens that range in ages from 3yr old to 2 yrs old. The chicks still come in at night due to the cold nights...but soon we will be having warmer nights and I want them to live with the ladies...I believe one to be a roo and the other a pullet...not sure yet...could be possibe that both are roos...should I wait until they are about the same size before introducing them? I have a run that the babies go in during the day for a couple of hours to be in the grass...the hens see them...hang out around the run and seem intrested in them...my light brahma does not leave the run..and stays right near the babies for hours! I guess I am just not sure how much longer I need to keep the chicks away from my ladies. I have 6 new baby chicks that are just 1 week old..and this will be a good learning experiance for me when their time comes to go outside! The ladies free range for right now but when the snow melts(if ever

) they will have a fenced in run..

This is Miss Lizzy..the I hope to be pullet..this was about 2 weeks ago and she is alot larger now...

 

[Fred's Hens]

Integration is difficult. 9 weeks is still awfully small in comparison to mature birds and the littler one is at a disadvantage in the sometimes brutal nature of chicken politics and pecking order issues.

There are lots of good threads here on integrating or introducing new chickens to existing flock members. You have some homework to do! And some science experimentation. Can we expect your term paper by the end of this marking period?

 

[arenea74]

I like how Lizzy has her neck cocked and looking at you!

 

[Engteacher]

This is what I did. Maybe you can try something similar. I have 8-week old chicks and need my brooder for my new hatchlings. I put the youngsters into a rabbit cage on the floor of my coop for about a week. The big birds could see the new bees but could do no harm. Yesterday, I opened their cage door so they could mingle. I watched them for quite a bit and saw no aggression, so I removed the door. The chicks go into the main coop, but still spend much of their time in their cage. The big birds have been free ranging, so the little ones have lots of room to explore. It's going well.

 

[Thatchickenguy]

U can introduce them at 6 weeks lol