Bringing the new chickens into the coop with the regular bunch

[Farmer Joe]

Need some advice here folks. I have 3 eight week old reds living in a small coop right up along side the big coop. The can see each other safely through the chicken fencing. They've been in there for a little over three weeks now. I figured this way everyone gets familiar with each other. I free range my regular bunch, two hens and rooster, daily. I let them out in the morning and close up the door to the big coop when they go in at night. I thought I'd let the new reds out this evening to free range just a little. Big mistake. George my rooster would have none of that and went on the major attack. Feathers flying and lots of biting and pecking on those eight week old birds. I was able to get the young ones back safely in their coop and I latched onto George and held him and shamed him.
How old do the new reds have to be before they can be put with the flock?
They really need to get out of that small coop to stretch their legs a bit more.
Any advice will be welcomed.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

The optimal age is 16 weeks. You can get away with it earlier sometimes but it depends on the older birds' personalities and there is always the risk of injury/death.

They should be around the same size as the other chickens. The chicks just don't stand up for themselves and the older birds sense weakness.

What you can do if you have a stretch of chicken wire is make them a little run with bird netting over it so the hawks don't pick them up and the older birds don't fly in. They will get some more room but be safe. I say chicken wire since I am assuming you have nice sturdy fencing protecting them from dogs on the perimeter. If not and your other ones free range, you might need to make a sturdier temporary pen than chicken wire.

 

[Farmer Joe]

Great idea making a mini run. I have a pretty good setup so this will be easy to do. Thanks