Introducing Adult to pullets

[Urban Chaos]

I've 8 6(ish) wk old birds and was considering introducing a laying hen so that we could get the egg thing started. 1) is this recommended and 2) if yes, what is the best way to go about it?

 

[briteday]

Most hens are not nice to younger, smaller birds. I generally keep my young birds in a brooder in the regular coop from about 2-3 weeks of age. The chicks are separated in their own quarters from the rest of the flock in a frame and chicken wire pen. So for everyone, it's looky, no touchy. By the time the young ones outgrow the brooder pen they are about the same size as the hens, 12-14 weeks old. At that point I will let them all out on a warm afternoon into the run. My teenage daughter sits in a lawn chair with the garden hose to squirt any bird who is tormenting another a bit too much...she can't stand to see her babies getting picked on

Generally I will leave the panel to the brooder pen open for a few nights if the pullets want to sleep there. But within a few days all of the pullets are checking out the nest boxes and jumping up on the roosts whenever the big girls aren't around. If there are any stragglers who are not using the regular roosts after 2-3 weeks then I take them out of the brooder pen after dark, place them on a lower roost, and close off the brooder. I've never had to put one on the roost manually for more than 3 nights. After that they're all in with the big girls. Also check to make sure no one is sleeping in a nesting box. That can be a difficult habit to break. Check when you close the pop door at night and be sure that everyone is on a roost.

 

[tamberlin]

good advice! thanks! I'll be using it soon too.
Deb