How Young is Too Young to Join the Flock

[Growley Monster]

So, I have 6 Brown Leghorn adult hens, 2 adult Brown Leghorn roosters, (one to be dispatched for Sunday Dinner) and a tubby fluffy Blue Cochin hen. I also have a dozen Buff Brahma chicks almost 3 weeks old, half pullets half cockerels. Located Chauvin, LA which is near the coast, on Bayou Petit Caillou. The BL birds have a nice 8x8x8 coop and a 50'x25' fenced run. The roosters are a bit aggressive which is usual for this breed. My plan was to put the brood pens in the coop for a week on their 3 week birthday and let the grownups get used to them forr a week before turning them loose. Fence is ordinary chicken wire and right now they can probably squirm through it but doubtful at 4 weeks. Is this timetable pushing things? The problem is I have nobody I can really trust to look afterr the little ones and we are supposed to go visiting forr a week right before Christmas so they need to be out foraging by then in case they eat up the flock blocks I plan to leave in the coop for emergency rations. Otherwise I would probably keep them seggregated until the 6 week mark. The hens can be a bit bossy, too. I am hoping that the rooster will look after the Brahma chicks. We have lots of hawks and owls, a few eagles, and the only bird lost was to I think a coyote. The fence is 8' high so of course the chickens fly over it with ease and go gallivanting all over our 4 acres of dry land and onto neighboring properties. Anyway I think this will work but hoping for a little validation or else a reality check that I am not thinking right.

 

[Morrigan]

I usually introduce chicks to my flock on a similar timeline to what you propose. At 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, I move them to a sectioned off part of the coop (with a heating plate), and let everyone get used to each other for a few days. I than open a small door in the brooding area that is big enough to let the chicks through, but keeps the bigger hens out. I see how that goes for a few days. If no problems, I remove the barrier. Most of the times they are fully integrated by 4 weeks.

I've also had broody hens wean their chicks as early as 3 1/2 weeks old and those chicks seem to do just fine with the larger flock.

Only once did I have I had a chicken display what I considered undue aggression towards that chicks (keep in mind that some amount pecking/chasing and putting the chicks "in their place" is normal). In that case, I culled the troublemaker as I don't consider aggression towards chicks a normal or acceptable behavior.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I raise my chicks in an outdoor brooder so the adults see them from 2-3 days old. At around 10 days old the chicks get their first supervised outing, and ideally get an outing daily after that. At around 14-16 days old I set up the brooder so that there's only a chick sized opening for the babies to use, herd them in and out to show them how it works, and then they spend all day with the adults from that point on.

You have a very large run which is a huge plus. Clutter it up to provide hiding spots for the chicks, and if you can set up a chick only area for the first week so they can have a protected spot with food and water, even better.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/ - early integration part starts about halfway down