Is it to soon to integrate?

[Chickycat]

I have 2 GLW hens and 4 BO hens almost a year old and 1 one year old Buff Orpington rooster. I have 5 new Americana chicks that are 9 weeks old. They are all suppose to be pullets, but, lucky me, I get a rooster. Anyway, is it too soon to integrate them into the flock. Are they old enough. They are making a mess of the bathroom they are in.

 

[poodlepill]

I would say too young, only because I just tried to intergrate my 23 9 week olds with my year old flock and now I am nursing a welsummer pullet from getting the back of her neck pecked clean to the bones and bloody. And I have a very large coop and the old gals free range all day.

I supervised them for a week and all of the sudden I found that pullet huddled in a corner of the coop.

If you have room in your coop make a corner fenced off and wait till they are more the same size. I now play chicken shuttle, I shuttle out the year olds to the pasture, then I shuttle the 10 week old pullets out of the large brooder, through the coop and into the side fenced chicken yard, then I re open the coop so the year old hens can come in use the nesting boxes to lay thier eggs. In the evening I get to shuttle all again. Soon I will intergrate again YAY

 

[Chickycat]

Thanks, I was afraid they were too young. I just need to get them out of the bathroom, so my 6 week old Silkie chicks can get out of the too small container they are in and go in the tub. Hubby and I will figure out something.

 

[poodlepill]

I know what you mean about too small of a container. I had 23 chicks, this was too many for me space wise and I have a 3 1/2 x 8' brooder out in the coop but that is really too small for 23 10 week olds thats why I pushed the intergration but It was too soon.