New chicks with hens

[aplatta]

If we get new chicks from the store can we put them in with our grown hens to raise them?

 

[sourland]

No. The present flock will very likely kill them. If one of your hens is broody (the closer to 21 days the better) she may be willing to foster the chicks, but only if she is broody.

 

[aplatta]

What age can you put them together then?

 

[rainee63]

It's best to wait till they're close to the same size as the older ones. And they need to be introduced to each other slowly. Everyone has their own methods. I have a large cage in my coop that I put the younger chickens in. After a week or so of everyone getting used to each other, I open the cage so they can come and go. This gives them a safe place to run if they get picked on. It's a process. Just gotta keep an eye on everybody and make sure they're ok.

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

There's a great article on this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

from personal experience,
we have our coop outside and a brooder in the garage...
at three weeks we set up a small yard cage (a few sticks wrapped in hardware cloth) and every day we drop the little ones in it. This gives the bigs and little interaction without the ability to touch. After a few days we make a small opening so the littles can enter/exit as they please, but the 8 week olds were too large to duck under. I think we gave it two full days of this and then Saturday night they followed the big ones into the coop and we locked them up!
now I will say the bigs still kick them away from areas/food sources, so I suggest two of everything with far distance between.