introducing babies to our adult hens & the great outdoors.

[honeyk]

We have 34 5 week old hens and 1 (oops) roo. We have been keeping them in a separate area in our barn with heat lamp, shavings & all the stuff they need.
They are growing beautifully but I'd like to know how and when do we try to introduce them to our 11 adults
(9 hens and 2 roos)? And what about letting them outside? We have a huge area ouside the barn that is ringed with electric poultry netting. The adults are outdoors all the time foraging and having fun...they come in to roost at night.

 

[feathersgalore]

I keep mine separate until the babies are almost adult size 12-16 weeks. Otherwise they might get hurt by the adults. I also section off a portion of the coop, that way both groups can see each other but nobody gets pecked. They stay in there for a week or so. Then I let them out. I supervise to make sure nobody gets seriously hurt (blood). If things don't go well, they go back in the sectioned off area for a couple more days.