Moving different breeds outside?

[juliet carter]

So I have a question about moving our pullets outside to join our established flock. A bit of background- We have four hens that are a year old in a small coop outside. We have seven pullets all different breeds in a brooder in our dining room. The pullets range in age from 5 weeks to almost 6 weeks. Most of the pullets seem fully feathered and ready to go outside but we have two bantams a Polish and a Silkie that don't seem ready. Should I introduce the four biggest pullets to our big girls and then introduce the bantams in a few weeks? Or should we wait and bring everyone outside at the same time? We will also be moving all of the chickens into a bigger coop. Does it make sense to move the pullets into the new coop before the older birds? Thanks for any insight you can give me.

 

[Mrs. K]

The more chicks introduced at one time, the less any single chick will get pecked on. Pecking takes energy, and it spreads the pecking out over more. Personally, I had mine out at 3 weeks. I would think at 5 weeks this time of year, they would be more than ready.

Do have hide outs, safe zones and multiple feeders. Mrs K