Hello all, last week I got 3 chicks that were 2 wks old and 6 that were 2 days old (or 2 days hatched lol). Right now I have them in 2 separate boxes in my laundry room with a heat lamp on them. My question is what age is best to put them in the coop with my 3 older hens? I have a dog crate I can put them in inside the run whenever I initially integrate them and I know it will be weeks before we can add the oldest ones but I'm just wanting an idea of what age I can do that.
New Babies :)
- Thread starter smorris2
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Sagey_7878
Songster
At 5-6 months old.
Hufflefluff
Songster
Depending on what the weather's like where you're at, I'd put them out when the young ones are about 6 weeks and the older ones are 8 ish weeks. You won't really have to worry about pecking order, because the newbies outnumber your hens by so much, and they'll be able to huddle for warmth, so don't fret too much about temperatures. As long as they're fully feathered and night temps aren't below 20-25 ish, they should be fine. If you want them out before that, you could look up 'mama heating pad' or 'outdoor brooding', and find a way to do that soon, else I'd wait until the youngest are at least 6 weeks (I generally keep them inside until 8ish weeks, but that's because I like having them so close- for many people, dust and noise becomes too much of an issue long before that 
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I would integrate the chicks together before integrating all chicks with adults.
Knowing more about your climate(add location to profile) and coop and run(dimensions and pics) would help us help you.
This is how I integrate chicks with adult flock.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
- Thread starter
- #5
My coop is 8ft long 4ft wide with a heat lamp hooked up inside. The run is 18 ft long, 5 or 6 ft wide and covered on the top. I live in Oklahoma and our temp varies pretty drastically this time of year. This morning it was in the 30s and raining and then the sun came out and it was mid 50s.
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- #6
I'm planning on integrating the chicks all together next week and then my next step is to put them in a large dog crate in my garage w/a heat lamp for cold nights. Then from there they will go to the coop.
It sounds as if your coop is just barely large enough to begin integration of the chicks now, which to my mind, is ideal. I feel the longer you wait the more the chicks grow and are more likely to present a competitive threat to the adult chickens, making integration fraught with conflict.
I brood my chicks from day one alongside my adult flock. They become familiar with one another, and by the time the chicks are a couple weeks old, they are beginning to safely mingle with the flock, using their safe pen as a panic room. Chicks observe the adults and learn their temperaments, and they soon figure out which individuals are safe, and which ones they need to avoid.
If you think about it, baby chicks are integrated by a broody hen into the flock at just a few days of age, usually with no incident. The broody teaches her chicks, but they learn a lot by being in the flock from the beginning. I've waited until chicks are eight weeks old to integrate them, and it's so much easier the younger they are.
@aart and I do it much the same way. Here's the way I do it. http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/r...rooder-and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors
I brood my chicks from day one alongside my adult flock. They become familiar with one another, and by the time the chicks are a couple weeks old, they are beginning to safely mingle with the flock, using their safe pen as a panic room. Chicks observe the adults and learn their temperaments, and they soon figure out which individuals are safe, and which ones they need to avoid.
If you think about it, baby chicks are integrated by a broody hen into the flock at just a few days of age, usually with no incident. The broody teaches her chicks, but they learn a lot by being in the flock from the beginning. I've waited until chicks are eight weeks old to integrate them, and it's so much easier the younger they are.
@aart and I do it much the same way. Here's the way I do it. http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/r...rooder-and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors
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