I have nine hens that are 12 weeks old. My friend has two chicks that are about six weeks old and she is needing to find them new homes because she is moving. How could i add them with the least amount of stress? Is this just a bad idea? Thanks, Jodie
If you decide to introduce your 12 weekers to your 6 weekers it is better to do it at night when they are less aggressive. They may get picked on and you will want to monitor the situation from time to time to make sure they are getting along okay. If it goes well they will establish a pecking order. It won;t happen overnight but they should be fine.
I have 30 chickens that are about 15 weeks old and I bought some nice barred rock chicks at the auction as days old, which are about 5 weeks old now, what I did was cage them inside the coop and run to let the older ones get acquainted. I let them out 3 days ago to see how it would work out. they did their share of running and hiding after getting pecked like crazy, but i watched close and today they all are getting along peachy. I think you must know your flock and use your best judgement.