Pullets

[OrganicMama4]

Hello! I will be getting 10 Blue Australorp hens in a couple of weeks and possibly a rooster. They will be 8 weeks old. Does anyone have any tips on caring for pullets this age? Also, we have 2 hens that are older in age that we got several months ago from family. Advice or links to articles on caring for them is welcome. Thanks and God bless!

 

[cavemanrich]

8 week old chicks are fully feathered at that stage. They should get along running around your coop, and run, just fine. Feed them a non layer feed until they start laying eggs. Non layer feed contains 2% calcium, while Layer feed is at 4% calcium. There are many options to feed your flock. I can expand on that if you need more info there. Otherwise, my posts would get way too long with info that may not be needed
You will have to integrate them with your 2 older hens. The older hens are obviously bigger, and stronger,,,,,,, that translates to them being possibly aggressive to newcomers. If you can house them together, with a separation of chicken wire,,, to see, but not touch, they do get used to each other.
No idea how your housing, coop and run looks. So cant offer much more what I don't have a background info on.
Other things missing,, is your location in your profile. No way to give advice on weather/climate related issues since you may be anywhere on the planet earth.
We don't need or want your address,,,,, just a general idea like City,,,, or State,, or country.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

8-week chicks should be fully-feathered and no longer in need of heat or special care. They will need a feeder and waterer that they can reach; a safe, draft-free but well-ventilated place to spend the night (they can have a perch but may not use it yet); and proper integration with the older pullets.

Here are some useful articles on integration:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-“see-but-don’t-touch”-method.67839/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/adding-to-your-flock.47756/

Knowing your location would indeed be helpful. Climate matters, especially with housing.

Likewise photos and dimensions for your setup. Integration takes extra space above and beyond the usual guidelines of 4 square feet per bird in the coop and 10 square feet in the run.

 

[OrganicMama4]

8 week old chicks are fully feathered at that stage. They should get along running around your coop, and run, just fine. Feed them a non layer feed until they start laying eggs. Non layer feed contains 2% calcium, while Layer feed is at 4% calcium. There are many options to feed your flock. I can expand on that if you need more info there. Otherwise, my posts would get way too long with info that may not be needed
You will have to integrate them with your 2 older hens. The older hens are obviously bigger, and stronger,,,,,,, that translates to them being possibly aggressive to newcomers. If you can house them together, with a separation of chicken wire,,, to see, but not touch, they do get used to each other.
No idea how your housing, coop and run looks. So cant offer much more what I don't have a background info on.
Other things missing,, is your location in your profile. No way to give advice on weather/climate related issues since you may be anywhere on the planet earth.
We don't need or want your address,,,,, just a general idea like City,,,, or State,, or country.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

Thanks for the helpful info! We live in SC where the weather is fair but sometimes in the 30s at night.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for the helpful info! We live in SC where the weather is fair but sometimes in the 30s at night.

The 30's are nothing to a chicken.

If they're dry and out of the wind they'll be perfectly comfortable -- a lot more comfortable than when it's over 90F.

 

[OrganicMama4]

oh, good! Thanks so much! God bless!