New Hen Old Hen mixer...

[eggcamefirst]

When can you mix old and new chickens? I have 3 two year old barred rocks and seven 11 week old hens (two roos). I have the 3 old hens in a separate "temporary" coop but want to put them all in the big coop.

 

[BantamLover21]

When can you mix old and new chickens? I have 3 two year old barred rocks and seven 11 week old hens (two roos). I have the 3 old hens in a separate "temporary" coop but want to put them all in the big coop.

I usually put my young birds in with the old ones at around 14 weeks of age. There will be some fighting and bullying of the younger ones, but they will work things out in the end, provided that they have enough space. Just keep an eye on them for the first week or so. Make sure that the young ones are getting enough to eat and drink, and that they aren't being severely picked on by the others (there usually is some feather pulling, which is fine; you just don't want the old hens tearing up the young ones too badly).

 

[IrishAcreFarm]

When can you mix old and new chickens? I have 3 two year old barred rocks and seven 11 week old hens (two roos). I have the 3 old hens in a separate "temporary" coop but want to put them all in the big coop.

I also wait until they are 14-16 weeks old. Then they are big enough to stick up for themselves. Plus, at that age, they are no longer making " baby" sounds. I always try to do a few monitored free ranging sessions before letting them together permenently in their coop/pen as well. I will then put the babies in the big girls pen without the big girls,and introduce one older hen at a time so reduce the chances of the babies getting ganged up on! Hope this helps!!