How old

[cornwellkidd]

How old should your chicks be before you mix them in with the older hens?

 

[JaeG]

They should be of a similar size. They need to be fenced off from your older birds for awhile so your older birds can see the newcomers and get used to them before they are allowed to mix and mingle.

 

[cornwellkidd]

I have the pen split in half the chicks are about 7 weeks old now. they see each other all day.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Well... really depends on your set up. Because I set up for early integration my hens and chicks are allowed to interact a little after 2 weeks old. My current chicks moved into the coop and began roosting with the hens at 4 weeks.

At 7 weeks, assuming they've seen each other for a couple weeks, you could try letting them mingle with supervision, and seeing how it goes. Make sure to have hiding spots the chicks can use, as well as multiple feed sources so the hens can't resource guard.