How long should I wait?

[birdseyeview]

I want to add to my existing flock which are about 19 weeks old. I have some chicks that are about 5 weeks old now. How long should I wait before I try to combine the two groups? I mean at what age should the younger chicks be before I attempt this. They are just about fully feathered out but are small compared to the 19 week olds.

 

[CMV]

I'd wait until they were closer to the same size although lots here don't. I have found that the bigger guys tend to beat up on the smaller guys in the beginning and then the fighting resumes once they are all bigger and the pecking order gets rearranged to account for the equal sizes. So, I just skip the first round of fighting by waiting. It won't be long before they are all about evenly matched.

Good luck.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This site does a better job than I ever could about adding chickens to your flock.

Buff Hooligan’s Adding to your flock
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

 

[birdseyeview]

Thank you