Introducing Chicks to the Flock

[erinangele]

I have 4 hens, and 3 chicks. The chicks are 10 weeks old, and have been in a fenced off section of the run for about 2 weeks now. This is the first time I will be introducing new chicks to the flock, and just want to make sure I do it right.

I have seen a hen run along side the fence where the chicks are in what looks like an aggressive manor. Obviously I don't want to put the chicks in danger, so I'm wondering how much longer I should wait to open the gate? Is this normal?

 

[Judy]

Quite normal. You can try it, but I would supervise closely. Sometimes thing go OK, with just basic pecking to establish the new pecking order. Sometimes they go worse. The safest way is to wait til the chicks are adult size. The last part of this article talks about dong the integratin itself.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[JessesGirl]

Quite normal. You can try it, but I would supervise closely. Sometimes thing go OK, with just basic pecking to establish the new pecking order. Sometimes they go worse. The safest way is to wait til the chicks are adult size. The last part of this article talks about dong the integratin itself.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

Thank you thank you thank you!! I have spent hours today reading this site trying to find an article like this! And it gave me the info I needed to finally make a decision about whether or not to take in a friends grown roo. I'm not going to. I don't want my 8-week-old girls getting hurt and I have a baby roo coming in a couple of weeks. THANK YOU!!!