How/When Would You Best Integrate Three 12-Week Olds and Eight 7-Week Olds?

[pierham]

Dear BYC-ers. We really need your help. We're building our first flock and had the worst luck with our original batch of chicks - 7 out of 8 were boys. We found good homes for 5 of the boys, and we currently have 2 cockerels and 1 pullet that are 12 week olds in a spacious coop and run (that the neighbors are calling Fort Cluck, because I went a little nuts with the predator proofing.)

Then because we needed girls, we bought 8 sexed pullets from our nearby feed store. As of last weekend, the 7 week olds and are living in our chicken tractor, which they like better than a brooder, but a couple of the girls get a little cranky.

They can see each other now and the dominant cockerel even makes funny little meowing(?) sounds. Their size difference is significant.

How and when would you integrate them?

Other facts -- this is a rainbow flock, with lots of different breeds.
12 week olds: Dominant boy - Black Copper Marans; Other boy - Easter Egger; Girl - Black Copper Marans
7 week old pullets: Delaware, Golden Sexlink (bossy), 2 Speckled Sussex, Cuckoo Maran, Dominique, Welsummer (runt/bantam?), Andalusian

Thanks in advance!

 

[Molpet]

one boy needs about 10 hens...
supervised visits in an area the littles can get away from the bigs.. sometimes it goes smooth.. if you wait until the boys are any older there definitely will be more issues
as soon as the boys want to breed there will be issues.. the boys mature sexualy about a month before the girls.. they will try to mate with the girls, who aren't ready yet. some boys are gentlemen and some are bad boys.. never know what you have ahead of time

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Not all mature before girls,infact,I have several pullets who matured WAY before the boys did,there is no general rule like in chickens,it'll probably be a mix.
Just because the 7 weeks are younger,does not mean they will not begin laying before the others,each is different.

There is ratio for roo to hen,but it isn't always needed.You can have 9 girls and 2 boys,without over breeding,just see what happens.Most likely the young boys will be crazy about mating,just build them a separate coop and they can learn manners through the wire,if they are too rough.

 

[pierham]

Not all mature before girls,infact,I have several pullets who matured WAY before the boys did,there is no general rule like in chickens,it'll probably be a mix.
Just because the 7 weeks are younger,does not mean they will not begin laying before the others,each is different.

There is ratio for roo to hen,but it isn't always needed.You can have 9 girls and 2 boys,without over breeding,just see what happens.Most likely the young boys will be crazy about mating,just build them a separate coop and they can learn manners through the wire,if they are too rough.

Thanks....when you you put the younger girls in with the other 3? (The older ones are twice the size of the pullets.)

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I would see what happens,how old are the older ones?