Need some advice about putting 5wk old chickens with my 3mo old chickens?

[ashleytattoo]

Ok so I got 4 chickens to start my coop and 2 ended up roos so I got 5 more chicks that I know for shure are pullets. Now the older chickens that are in the coop are 3mo old and the new pullets are 5wks and ready to go to the coop. My question is how to best introduce the new group to the old group my hope is that this will be easy because the older ones have not yet reached full maturity yet. I am putting the new chicks in a cage in the coop to keep them appart from the older ones but my other question is how long should I do this for and how I can tell if there is a problem between them? Thanks for all the help

 

[Den in Penn]

A week should be enough. If you have a large enough run you can let them in it together while watching. Put in things to break the lines of sight and places the younger ones can enter and the older ones can't. If things go well you could leave them together, if they don't you can separate them again and try again latter.