mixing chickens of differnt ages

[surfchicken]

I have 2 Swedish flower hens 10 weeks old and i have an opportunity to get 2 rhode island red pullets 5 months old should i take them or would this be a bad idea?

 

[Rich386]

If you keep them separate but where they can see each other for a few weeks. You should have no problem introducing them to the flock.

 

[FlockOfGirls]

Awh! Almost the answer I am looking for I want to introduce two Rhodes to my chick flock that is in the age range of 3-6weeks and they have been together since 3weeks.old and 5days old...i.will keep them seperated for awhile and divide the run. The Rhodes will get their own small play yard pen/coop to sleep in at night and for protection. Hopefully that intergrade them all into a 6 flock

 

[JanO]

At 10 weeks and 5 mos they should be fine together. There will be some sorting out of the pecking order, but that's normal. The 3-6 week olds should be kept in a separate area where they can be seen, but not hurt, by the older groups for a week or so. Then allow them access, but make sure they have a place to get away if they need to. In a couple of weeks they will have it all sorted out and integrate well.

 

[5inacoop]

Just what I was wondering also. I have 6 week old Barred Rock and and Unknown (I think she might be an EE mix, not sure). I've had them since they were 1 week old and since the Barred Rock all turned out to be Roos (yeah, what are the odds of that!) I was looking to buy more hens. I found someone that has New Hampshire Reds nearby that are 12 weeks old. Could I put them in together?

 

[JanO]

They should be fine, but I'd keep an eye on them for a while to make sure that they work out the pecking order without bloodshed. If there is a problem just separate them so they can be seen but not hurt for a few days. They'll get used to eachother and integrate pretty quickly.

 

[5inacoop]

Okay...thank you.

 

[fran1089]

Hi all
I'm very new to all of this so please forgive any silly questions.
I recently(4days ago) purchased 3 15week old Pekin hens and 2 18week old warren hens.
They all live together in one coop/run the coop is around 150x150cm and the run about 4mx6m so they have lots of space,howver the older chicken keep pecking at the younger ones and chasing them.
In a bid to help them all settle in we have put the Pekin chicks in a dog crate so that the other chickens can see them however at night they are all in the coop together.
I just want to know if this is the right thing to do or if it may make things worse.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Fran

 

[cstronks]

The flock should be separated but visible to each other. I integrated new pullets into an established flock a few years ago and it went seamlessly, but the proper precautions need to be taken. In addition to partitioning the coop and run, you'll want to make sure that your run has plenty of hiding places and safe spots for new hens. This way if certain hens get nasty it'll give the new birds a chance to take refuge somewhere.

A little rough-housing will occur when you integrate the flocks, but unless serious damage is done then its nothing to worry about. The birds just need to figure out the new pecking order. These birds might be young enough that they won't be overly abusive but the 5 month olds are likely full grown and will be pretty dominant. I would suggest keeping the two flocks separated until there is no noticeable difference in size. This way the birds can defend themselves.