HELP NEEDED! Introducing 1 year old hens to my 2 month chicks/flock

[helloroe]

We went to visit a friend and I know all his chickens are well cared for and healthy but due to issues that are his personal, we brought home 4 one year old hens in a cage. I do not have any second coop made or real area for them then the cage I brought them home in. Do I quickly build a second area or can I merge them? How and when? Any and all tips are appreciated.

 

[bigdawg]

well, i have been told buy several others to put the new hens up on the roost after dark, that way when they all wake up in the morning they will think they all belong. i havent had good luck doing so. my first hen intorduced at night suffered light pecking for a few days. my last flock i moved to a house with only one remaining hen there(do to dog attack) all the new hens pounced on her the next morning, now i am doctoring peck wounds. put them in after dark and watch them at first light. a little pecking is ok, you just need to watch how bad they peck each other. my pour hen was hammered in a few hrs.

 

[bigdawg]

oh wait a minute. you have one year olds and 2 month olds to put together? wow, i havent tried that big of age difference, i dont think thats a good idea. but one never knows until you try. just put them in at dark and make sure you can watch them closely in the am. good luck

 

[vnploveschickens]

You should have the 1 year old hens in a separate area for at least 30 days for quarantine. To make sure they have no diseases that could be past on to your 2 month old chicks. Make sure they are not even breathing the same air.

Once that is done, the chicks should be about the same size as the hens to better protect themselves. You could have them in the same area so they can see each other but not touch. They can get to know each other.

Do the best you can. Good luck!

 

[helloroe]

So we went to plan B, ok maybe plan A as there was no plan for this. Took an old outdoor work table and put some wood around 1/3 of it, completed it with the hardware cloth we bought at a good price Saturday because someone ordered it from the feed store and had not picked it up a few months back, and surrounded the bottom with cement blocks to keep the girls in and everyone else out. Put in milk crates for nest wth a board on top of them for a roost. A place call home for a couple weeks until we can get the coop/aviary built for everyone to go into.