Integration and free range question

[Erin80]

My chicks are 6 weeks old, there are 20ish chicks ( lost count haha!!). I have 7 hens that range in age between 1-5 years. You can see in the picture how they are separated but can 100% see each other, they’ve been like this for 3 weeks now.
Are 6 week olds old enough to free range? Free ranging together is my favourite way to integrate as they just have so so much room and our yard is really like no mans land to the chickens. I’m nervous that the babies won’t go back to the coop at night though or will get lost somehow.
Should I wait until they are older to integrate?

 

[DobieLover]

You can start integration now. The littles won't venture too far from the run. As they get braver, they'll go further.
I'd put a few more things in the run to hide behind in case one or more of the littles goes back in to avoid the bigs.
How big is your coop?

 

[Erin80]

You can start integration now. The littles won't venture too far from the run. As they get braver, they'll go further.
I'd put a few more things in the run to hide behind in case one or more of the littles goes back in to avoid the bigs.
How big is your coop?

Big. 20x10

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are 6 week olds old enough to free range?

I don't free range any more. I put up electric netting after different people abandoned dogs in the country and I lost too many chickens. But for three years they did free range. That included broody-raised chicks before and after being weaned, some weaned younger than 6 weeks, and some brooder-raised chicks that had been raised in the coop.

I’m nervous that the babies won’t go back to the coop at night though or will get lost somehow.

I never had that problem in the main coop where they were used to sleeping. When I move them to the elevated grow-out coop they sometimes want to sleep under the pop door until I train them to sleep in that coop, so I don't let them free range until they are trained to go back in that coop at night.

I've kind of had the opposite problem a couple of times. Chickens seem to not understand the concept of gates. I've had chickens want very badly to return to the coop to sleep but they get behind a fence and can't get there. They totally ignore a gate 10 feet away that they have been going through all day and just pace the fence, trying to find a way through. I've had to herd them to that gate a time or two before they caught on that the gate is how they get to where they sleep. So be out there at bedtime in case they need help.

Should I wait until they are older to integrate?

I would not wait. When they free range any size and age chicken is at risk to a predator and smaller ones have more predators that pose a danger. A large snake might eat a chick that would not bother a larger chicken. Smaller hawks might take a chick that would not bother a full grown chicken. I never had a problem with that (except for those dogs and those dogs took grown chickens) but some people have problems when they free range.

 

[Yardmom]

I free range all ages. Occasionally chicks won't find the ramp/door the first day with the main flock, but are easy to find and catch. ( wait until dark to catch if that is an issue for you) It rarely takes more than 2 days of walking them up the ramp before they naturally do it on their own.

 

[bhawk-23]

How did the free ranging go?