Oklahoma to Ohio...5 hens in tow

[Jkale]

Hi everyone,
My husband I are finally back home after leaving Ohio years ago.
We joined our daughter and her family, moving last summer, and were "instructed" by said daughter that we could not move without bringing her girls along. She and her husband also moved to the Buckeye State a year before and were not permitted to have chickens in their new neighborhood.
The 5 EE hens handled the move better than I did, I think, laying 2 eggs in the dog crate on the way here.
We have recently added seven Buckeye chicks and a lone Leghorn. They hatched April 12, making them about 9 weeks?
They are now outside in the run but separated from the EE's with some secure netting, and have a coop for nighttime.
My questions: how long before I can put them together? The big girls have layer feed pellets, grit and oyster shell, and the littles are on chick feed crumble, and chick grit. I understand the oyster isn't necessarily good for the littles. Is it a concern putting them together when they are eating different things?
Thanks for any advice! Love this group!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. An easy way to manage a flock of different ages is to feed "all flock" feed with oyster shell in a separate feeder. That way, all birds can eat the same food, and those requiring additional calcium will eat the oyster shell (your non-laying birds will ignore it). You have done the right thing by keeping them separate, but being able to see each other. This link may help you further -
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

Good luck
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to the Backyard chickens flock

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Great to hear they made the trip cross country so well!! I have transported parrots cross country and they also did quite well. With lots of attention and stops, usually birds can make these big journeys.

Definitely take your time with mixing the birds. I would however wait until the 9 week olds are 3 or more months old? They are still quite tiny to mix in with full sized hens and could get hurt. They are still quite fragile yet. You might set up an enclosure in the run and start the hens getting used to the babies. I usually do this with chicks...I have a set up in the run and the coop...keep babies in these inclosures until they are about 3 months of age. Everybody has been seeing everybody for a long time. BUT...watch them carefully when you do go to mix them together. And it is always advised to put out more food and water stations as the adult birds can starve out the young ones completely. Separate out bullies before removing weaker birds. Sometimes flock leaders need to be caged for a bit while the new smaller birds find their places in the flock. It can take months for full integration of new birds.

Good luck and welcome to our roost!