Hello. From SW (Delton) Michigan

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kcscrapper

kcscrapper

In the Brooder
6 Years
Aug 25, 2013
12
0
22
Looking for members in my area..I am new to chicken raising...A friend gave me 7 laying hens(i only get 3 to 4 eggs per day) and 4 baby chicks..When can i let the babies loose with the older hens..Right now i keep the babies in my fenced in back yard and the hens roam free out side of the fenced in area? I also have them (The babies) in the same coop as the older hens but they are also fenced off from the older hens..When can i remove the fence in the coop..The babies are getting big and won't be able to fit in the small area in the coop much longer...Any help and advice would be app..
 
It's safest to try and wait until the chicks are close in size to the adults. Sometimes bringing chickens together goes alright and sometimes it's horrible. There will be some fighting simply because the pecking order will have to be redone. How long have they been together like that? It's great that you've had them penned up this way though
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Also with your adults free ranging there is a good chance that some of them are laying somewhere secret since you are only getting a few eggs

Welcome to the site!
 
My daughter kept the babies till they turned 4 weeks old..Than it became a problem for her cause of her job..She couldn't keep water and food in the cage while she was at work..They would tip the water over and spill the food ...So i told her to bring them to me...So the babies have been in the coop over night with the older hens for almost 3 months now...The babies are around 4 and a half months old now...We have looking high and low for eggs..LOL...But never found any so we are thinking some of the hens are over the laying age...We are going to build a fenced in area around the coop with a covered top ( to protect them from other critters) for all the chickens... They won't be able to free roam during the winter months...

Thank you for the Welcome...

Ellen
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan
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I would say your birds should be old enough and big enough to put in with the older birds. Be prepared for some fussing, and to step in if anyone is really a bully.

Hope you stop by the Michigan thread and say Hi - look in the Where am I - Where are You section of the Forum.
 

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