Good advice from Den.
They are living animals. They don’t come with guarantees. It’s possible the integration will go so smoothly you will wonder what all the worry was about. It’s possible you will have a disaster. I haven’t done chicks that age but most of us are successful when we integrate. It can be done.
The older chicks will outrank the younger in the pecking order until the younger mature enough to force their way into that pecking order. When you put the two groups together you might see the older chasing and beating up on the younger. You might see them intermingling with no problems after an adjustment period. What you will probably see is the older pecking the younger when the younger invade the personal space of the older and the younger running away. The younger will probably quickly learn to stay away from the older. It will probably look like two separate flocks until the younger grow up.
One way that chickens have developed to be able to live in a flock is that if there is a conflict, the weaker runs away from the stronger. There might be some chasing involved but as long as the weaker has room to get away from the stronger it usually works out. But it is very important that they have enough room to run away or just avoid to start with.
Some of the things you can do to help your odds of this working out. Den mentioned most of them. House them side by side for a while so they can get used to each other. Give them as much space as you can. Add things for them to hide under or behind, especially if your space is limited. Have separate feeding and watering spots so the younger can eat and drink without challenging the older.
There is no telling when yours will start roosting overnight. Most of my brooder-raised chicks start about 10 to 12 weeks but I’ve had some start a lot earlier or a lot later. One place mine are particularly vicious toward the younger is on the roosts as they are settling in. I suggest not only providing more roost space than you think you need, but put some of it lower and separated from your main roosts a bit to give the younger a safer place to go. Otherwise you may find yours sleeping in the nests.
. So now I believe we have 1 roo and two hens who are currently 6 weeks old. My older chicks are still making baby chicken sounds but appear to be beginning the pecking order. After our loss I ordered some more chicks, and then I picked up a couple of chicks at the feed store yesterday. I am hoping to introduce my new chicks that are currently a little over 1 week (plus 2 that are 4 days old) in about 3 more weeks once the quarantine is over. I was wondering if the sheer numbers of little ones v.s. older chickens would make it easier or harder to introduce them to each other. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, most of the info I am finding about flock integration is in regards to different aged fowl than I have, and being new to this I don't know how much that makes a difference. Again thanks for you time and expertise!
