Introducing chickens

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Kmoody

In the Brooder
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Hi everyone. We are new to raising chicks and fell in love immediately! I have two Cochin's that are 10 weeks old and living in our coop. We went out and bought 6 more shortly after that are going on 4 weeks. They live in my house right now. When is a good time to introduce them? Also, when they are coop ready can they share with my older two?

Thanks!
 
Kmoody said:
Hi everyone. We are new to raising chicks and fell in love immediately! I have two Cochin's that are 10 weeks old and living in our coop. We went out and bought 6 more shortly after that are going on 4 weeks. They live in my house right now. When is a good time to introduce them? Also, when they are coop ready can they share with my older two?

Thanks!
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Welcome to BackYardChickens! So glad to have you here in our wonderful community of friendly, helpful, knowledgeable people! As stated, there are lots of articles in the forums about chicken integration. There is a search function at the top right of your screen that will help with that. Many folks use the "look but don't touch'' method, which has some sort of see-through barrier so they can say 'hi' and get used to each other but not actually mingle until they're like, "Oh, it's you. hi." You want to do this soon, as younger chicks will get past the "OMG it's a stranger" thing quickly, whereas older hens have their flock and can be indignant about newbies.
 
Kmoody said:
Hi everyone. We are new to raising chicks and fell in love immediately! I have two Cochin's that are 10 weeks old and living in our coop. We went out and bought 6 more shortly after that are going on 4 weeks. They live in my house right now. When is a good time to introduce them? Also, when they are coop ready can they share with my older two?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I would keep them in a brooder for about a month so they can stay warm and get healthy with all the right food etc. Crushed pellets which will have a lot of vitamins so they can grow better and get stronger. Also you can get a water drinker which is cheap to buy. After a month you can put they outside in a warm place out of the wind and they can also have a choice to go outside. I would introduce them to the others at around 2 months old. They will start laying at around 4 and a half months and 6 months considering the type of breed and the place that there kept. Hope this helps
 
Hi, and welcome to BYC! I am so glad you joined! :frow I would start to introduce them soon, and I usually do about 10 or more days of the chicks being able to see each other, and then I slowly integrate them. There will probably be some squabbles, but not enough fights to draw blood. And I would agree with N F C that it depends on how big your coop is.
 

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