Chickens of different age?

[jpmartin12]

We purchased some chickens for my wife... 6 red's then about two or three weeks later we got 8 orpington's so they are a few weeks apart and have been kept in different pins.. I have been working on the chicken coop.. due to weather it has taken me longer to get to the point I am at.. which is ready for chickens.. but before putting them in it all together I am worried the older chickens will attack the younger chickens.. I was thinking about putting some chicken wire up to split the inside of the coop to keep them separated but together.. in hopes they will get used to each other and live happily together once they are ready to run in the yard..

Will my plan work out or am I going to have problems getting the two batches to mix?

I have a guy at work that keeps telling me I am going to have all kinds of problems from one reason to the next..

thank you..

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Keep them apart if they are more than two weeks apart in age. If they are only two weeks apart I would integrate them now.

You have a good plan to divide the coop.

Put them together when they are about the same size. Stay around for a couple of hours and observe them.

When putting adults with chicks the chicks should be around 16 weeks old. Yours are two young groups so you should be able to put them together a lot earlier.

The normal pecking order will be established, which can appear frightening when you put the two groups together. But if anyone is truly hurt then just put them separate again and retry later. If they are chest bumping and pecking but backing down and not truly hurting each other that would be OK and considered normal.

 

[aart]

We purchased some chickens for my wife... 6 red's then about two or three weeks later we got 8 orpington's so they are a few weeks apart and have been kept in different pins.. I have been working on the chicken coop.. due to weather it has taken me longer to get to the point I am at.. which is ready for chickens.. but before putting them in it all together I am worried the older chickens will attack the younger chickens.. I was thinking about putting some chicken wire up to split the inside of the coop to keep them separated but together.. in hopes they will get used to each other and live happily together once they are ready to run in the yard..

Will my plan work out or am I going to have problems getting the two batches to mix?

I have a guy at work that keeps telling me I am going to have all kinds of problems from one reason to the next..

thank you..

Putting both groups into a brand 'new to them both' environment would be an advantage over adding one group to one already living in the coop...it takes the territoriality issue off the table.

The splitting the coop in two with a wire wall is a good back up plan tho in case things get uncontrollably bloody.

Places for birds to hide out of line of sight and/or up and away from each other, multiple feed/water stations can help too.

 

[Chicken lover 4]

I put a new chicken into the coup that was 1 week younger than the others. it is normal if they peck, but just watch them for a few minutes to make sure it isn't serious. After one day, my little guy was under the wing-literally-of one of the other chickens, sleeping! So don't worry, they will make friends or even be "adopted" by an older chicken.