How long does it that the flock to accept the new young chicks?

[velma]

My chicks are 11 and 9 weeks old. I have had them in the coop with an escape cage for over two weeks now, but the babies will only come out of the house into the coop when the hens are our free ranging. At first they came down and got in the cage, now they don't. Will it just take more time? I have five hens and four chicks.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Your babies have a good sense of survival. The hens will rip them apart.
Introducing chickens is a time consuming process, just so you know.
Never just throw new chickens into an existing flock. The results can be catastrophic. You need to have an introduction period of at least a few days to a week, preferrably with the new ones fenced off so the "old" ones can't tear them to pieces.
If you have chicks, the general rule for adding new birds to an already existing flock is to wait until the newcomers are roughly the same size as the established birds. That way, they can at least defend themselves. Otherwise, they will be seriously injured or even killed.
When introducing adult or adult-sized birds to an existing flock, a 30 day quarantine is highly recommended. Disease is easily carried from flock to flock, even on your shoes. I usually quarantine the new birds for at least 30 days, well away from the main flock, then put them in a pen near the main flock for a few weeks. You can then either divide your run into 2 separate sections or put the newcomers into a cage inside the run for a few days to let them get used to each other. Then I let them out to free range together for a few days/week, eventually they will fight it out and the new ones will blend in with the original flock.
Unacquainted chickens are going to fight, and unfortunately there is not much that can be done about it. It is just in their nature. But I would suggest that when you do finally put them together for the first time that you have the garden hose ready just in case anyone gets a little too out of hand. One quick shot of water should do it.

It would be nice if chickens could all just get along. Unfortunately, that was not programmed into their DNA. Chickens are cruel when it comes to outsiders until the pecking order becomes established. Once that is out of the way, peace should once again return to the kingdom.

 

[AnaD]

My chickens have seen and been around my chicks their whole lives from inside a pen during the day. Later I put the older pullets into the run and let the wee ones run free all day. When I finally introduced the wee ones into the run they were chased and bagered often (nothing violent)...months later they are still being chased and bagered on occasion. My chicks have a healthy fear the older pullets, but I'm hoping things settle down soon. It sucks to worry about the babies.