New coop/run and introduction of 2 different flocks

I have a new coop and run that has never housed chickens. I have a unique opportunity to adopt chickens from 2 different sources. I have a friend that is gifting me some of her chickens (4 of them) and shortly after she said she wanted to give me chickens a lady that I had worked with needs to give up her chickens (4). Will this be a good idea to bring 2 different flocks together into neutral ground at the same time? How would one go about doing this? When I do a search the only resources I find are introducing new chickens to an already established flock.

I forgot to mention that both groups are young and are just about ready to lay their first eggs.

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

It may be a fabulous opportunity, it may be a disaster. With living animals no one can give you guarantees one way or the other. There are different factors that play into it like sex, age, and personality of the individuals, your integration techniques, and how much room you have. What breeds are they? Some of that will be luck, some you have control over.

Before I give too many specific suggestions on how I'd do it in your situation I'd need to know what your specific situation is. In feet or meters how big is your coop and your run? Some photos on how they are put together could be a big help, inside the coop and outside. In general it takes more room too integrate than for them to live together once they have worked out the pecking order and learned to live together as one flock.

Do you know why they are giving up their chickens? Point of lay sounds like a strange time. Are they dealing with parasites, diseases, or behavioral problems or are they simply at a point in life where keeping chickens is not right for them? Are there any red flags? There may be legitimate reasons they are giving up their chickens. Chickens can tie you down and interfere with your lifestyle. It's not like you can board them for a week if you want to visit grandkids. Some find that the work is more than they anticipated, or they made it inconvenient for themselves the way things were set up. If I were taking someone's chickens like that I'd want to know why they are giving them up.

Why do you want chickens? What are your goals? If you are set up so it is convenient for you it doesn't have to be that hard or time consuming. Many of us really enjoy it. You don't need to tell us why but you might want to decide if you will be in it for the long haul.

Tell us what you can about the chickens and your set-up. Maybe we can help make your start easier and the whole experience more enjoyable.

Good luck!
 
Thank you for all of your replies! My coop itself is 3x4.5 ft. The run that is part of the coop is 3x7. Their actual day run that is attached to the coop/run is 10x10 ft. They are all hens we are guessing australorps. I am thinking one may be a rooster so my friend will take it back if that is the case and exchange it for a hen.

My friend, who has gifted me 6 chickens, raises them for eggs and food. She knew that I had wanted chickens for a long time so she surprised me one day when I was at her farm. An oh-by-the-way moment when she said the chickens we were playing with are ours! The other lady has a daughter who was moving into an apartment and needed homes for her chickens. I ended up not taking hers. I just have 6 chickens (possibly one of them being a rooster!) all from the same flock.

I love fresh, free range eggs. I hated bugging my friends for theirs. I knew one day I would have a chickens of my own but we have been so busy so we just kept putting it off. I have been researching about chickens and slowly putting my run and coop together. My friend was able to fast forward my efforts so now we are a proud family of chickens! Eventually I will have them free range outside of their pen. I will be giving them another week or 2.
 
My coop itself is 3x4.5 ft.
Too small for 6 birds, IMO....maybe 3.
Tho much may depend on climate and if the 'day' run is predator proof.
But it sounds like you are not integrating from different flocks now,
so that will make things easier.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

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