Little to Big OR big to little

[K-Chick]

I have 17 11 wk olds and about 14 8 month olds who are laying. Would it be better to add a few older hens to the younger flock to get them adjusted to each other, or the younger to the older ones? Or just open the screen between them and see what happens? I have 2 rooms with a door between them and I put a screen there so they have been seeing each other. The way outside is where the older ones live. So the younger ones will have to go through their room to get outside. I have only had the younger ones a week. So they haven't even gone outside yet, and I wanted them used to where home is. I guess my real question is how to intrigrate them the best.

 

[Judy]

Either outdoors or at night seems to work best for most. But results vary. Mostly, be there to monitor and intervene if needed.

In that setup, I would think the biggest problem would be the older ones attacking the new ones as the new ones tried to cross "their" territory.

If the new ones all sleep on roosts, might be the best bet would be to sneak them onto the roosts with the older ones after dark. If they free range or you have a really large run, you could try it outdoors.

Good luck.