Beginning a flock with mixed ages?

[tdav20]

I'm new to chickens, and yesterday I bought a coop and two three-week-old bantams. I was looking to get two more chicks the same age. BUT, in the meantime, I got a call from a friend with a 1-year-old Barred Rock who recently lost his three flock mates and she'd love me to take her. I am in the city and have a smaller backyard coop, so I can only have 4 total, but love the idea of not having to wait 6-8 months for eggs...

Since they are ALL new chickens moving here into a new coop within a few days of each other, would it be OK to have a 1-year-old with three chicks, or am I asking for trouble? The three chicks would/could be in the coop during the day, but still come in at night...

Thanks in advance!!

 

[onionheadtg2014]

Sounds to me like its a disaster waiting to happen but if you do everything right it might work out. I would suggest letting them see each other but keep them separate for a couple of weeks. Once the get to know each other and are use to the idea of one another then you should be fine. Once you begin to integrate keep an eye on them and gradually introduce. I would let them be together for like ten minutes at a time after about two weeks until you have no more issues. Hope this helps.

 

[HerbGir1972]

would this be the same with a 4 wk old hen and a younger chick???

 

[aart]

Onionhead gave good advice......size difference can be the biggest factor but also territory.

Always have a place the smaller and/or newer chickens can escape to be safe from physical abuse.
The more room, the better....if they're crowded, there's more of a change of problems.

Chickens can be viciously savage to one another...and if you see blood, get them physically separated immediately.

 

[HerbGir1972]

Well I had to get the chickens outta my bathroom, little devillitas we're coming out every time I had to feed or water.
Sooooooo, we took them up to the safe house to see what would happen when we put them in with Butterscotch.
I watched them all day as I was working on a few other things at the Farm.

Everything went swimmingly, Butterscotch just seemed confused but they all live together and we've put the long run back on so everyone has plenty of space. I will be adding another layer of fencing to the permacoop as well as an outer rim of cement paving stones 12X12X3 and adding a door to the front run for even a little more roaming area (it's a big coop.actually 2 coops that were partitioned)

So our flock is at the farm, and we're in the last stages of making it home for them, I'm going for some blue stain for the outer wood today
and we're planning on putting up name plaques since the farm has a fair number of visitors.



Our coops were made from reclaimed wood from a very old barn, Quite a number of years age.

 

[HerbGir1972]

I was going to stain them today but alas Mother Nature said Whaaatttt...Working on Memorial Day I Just Won't Have that...So It's Raining here
#ItsAwesomeOutThere