Introducing pullets (and a cockerel) to older pullets?

[howdyitsmia]

I have a bunch of pullets, 8 who are about 8-9 weeks old, and 4 who are 15 weeks old. They have adjacent runs, with a tiny coop and run inside the big run.
I’ve been letting them free range together supervised, and in the evening lately, and the 4 older ones are awful! They go after them just for the sake of being mean.
Is it too early? I need the babies to be integrated before they get too big because we don’t have enough room for them in the small coop.
We’ve been closing the big run with the big girls out in the yard all day so that we can give the little girls some space. Is keeping the queens out of the run bad? Should I not let them face to face? Or just keep sticking with what I’m doing?

Also, one of the babies is a boy for sure, and we might have two. Will this help integrate them?

 

[howdyitsmia]

I can provide pictures if needed

 

[Isaac 0]

@aart , and @azygous , can give you some good advice regarding this topic.

 

[azygous]

Young chickens can be much more brutal on those younger and smaller. If you had adult chickens of several years of age, they would be much more indifferent to the smalls. It's just how chickens roll.

Even if you had brooded these two groups side by side, you'd still likely see conflict. I'm going to be facing your dilemma myself in a few weeks with my one-week olds and thirteen week-olds, even though I'm brooding in my run in close proximity to the flock.

Basically, you need to protect the smaller ones until they become large enough to fend for themselves. Younger chickens need only a few basics and they will be able to accept their place in the pecking order and avoid direct confrontation with the older ones. The basics are access to food and water and space to avoid or evade the larger ones.

My thirteen week-olds are mostly on their own, but I do feed them separately in a wing off my run that I temporarily close off while these pullets eat. Then I open it again after they've had all they wanted.

One of the other contentious issues is at roosting time. Over the years, I've had to step in and referee as the youngsters try to roost and are bullied around as they attempt this. I've found that by stapling a simple feed sack over the perch to act as a divider, effectively acting as a shield at the end of the long perch between the youngsters and the oldsters, really helps. Also, a handy fly swatter to discourage a bully that is intent on mischief.

Eventually, everyone settles down in their rank in the pecking order, and things become peaceful again. Having "teenage" chickens can be every bit as nerve wracking as having the human kind.

 

[howdyitsmia]

Young chickens can be much more brutal on those younger and smaller. If you had adult chickens of several years of age, they would be much more indifferent to the smalls. It's just how chickens roll.

Even if you had brooded these two groups side by side, you'd still likely see conflict. I'm going to be facing your dilemma myself in a few weeks with my one-week olds and thirteen week-olds, even though I'm brooding in my run in close proximity to the flock.

Basically, you need to protect the smaller ones until they become large enough to fend for themselves. Younger chickens need only a few basics and they will be able to accept their place in the pecking order and avoid direct confrontation with the older ones. The basics are access to food and water and space to avoid or evade the larger ones.

My thirteen week-olds are mostly on their own, but I do feed them separately in a wing off my run that I temporarily close off while these pullets eat. Then I open it again after they've had all they wanted.

One of the other contentious issues is at roosting time. Over the years, I've had to step in and referee as the youngsters try to roost and are bullied around as they attempt this. I've found that by stapling a simple feed sack over the perch to act as a divider, effectively acting as a shield at the end of the long perch between the youngsters and the oldsters, really helps. Also, a handy fly swatter to discourage a bully that is intent on mischief.

Eventually, everyone settles down in their rank in the pecking order, and things become peaceful again. Having "teenage" chickens can be every bit as nerve wracking as having the human kind.

Thanks so much for all the info! Hopefully I didn’t introduce them too early. There hasn’t been any blood and barely any feather pulling, so I’m hoping for the best. They aren’t sleeping in the same coop yet but I’ll totally try doing the divider on the roost once they do.