Introducing my new chicks to my hens?

[emilyschartz21]

What is the best way to introduce my chicks to my four hens? The four are about a year old..... These are them...

. I had a Rhode Island Red with those four hens but she died from a heart attack I think...so I got two more chicks hat are Rhode Island reds. I've never introduced new ones to the group before

 

[emilyschartz21]

How long should I wait to introduce them to each other?

 

[blucoondawg]

How old are they, I am going to wait on mine until they are around 6 weeks old maybe 5 weeks, by then they will have all their feathers and should be able to escape the adults when they decide to pick on them, also have plenty off room for the little ones to roost up high so they can get away from the adults. It would help to put the little ones in a cage in the coop for a couple days before turning them loose with the flock too so they can get used to each other before hand but not hurt them through the cage

 

[emilyschartz21]

Ok what kind of cage? I have a big dog kennel they could go in? The coop is a big 8x8 shed with a 8x9 outside area and we have a huge backyard they play in outside the coop. The chicks are about three weeks old (max). Can you tell if they are hens or roosters?

 

[emilyschartz21]

 

[Mehjr10]

You would generally want to wait until the new ones are close to the same size as the older girls.. Place them in a pen next to or in the run for them to get used to each other.. You can also fence off a small area inside the run temporarily with a small gate for the little ones to get away from the large girls.. They can and will kill smaller ones trying to establish the pecking order.

 

[emilyschartz21]

Oh ok. Well my little ones will have to get a lot bigger because my older ones are pretty fat.... the Rhode Island Red I had that died used to bite but the others never did...will I have a problem with them trying to hurt the others?

 

[Mehjr10]

You will have to give them a try, while watching them to see what happens. Your girls may take to them well, but i would still have them in a pen for a bit and give them an area to escape to. Again I wait until they are close the the same size. I had a young 2 month old roo that I tried to put in with some others early, they all got along while watching them came home later in the day and dead and plucked.

 

[emilyschartz21]

Oh wow ok I will have a pen for them to escape to how big should it be

 

[blucoondawg]

This is why the small ones need room to escape the adults, I notice the little ones tend to stay roosted away from the big ones if they can and stay up there for a good part of the day to avoid getting picked at, I cannot wait until my chicks are fully grown to put them in the coop, I have been getting a couple of batches of chicks each year and am not going to have 3 coops and runs to separate them all until they get to be fully grown. The more space they have the better.