Raising hens with different ages

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dasexpanther

dasexpanther

Hatching
Jul 2, 2015
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HB California
i have an Americanua(I think I spelt that wrong) and a Rhode island red that are roughly 6 months old and the Americanua had already started laying. Recently I got a 4-5 week old white leghorn and my Rhode Island Red started attacking it. For the past week I've had the leghorn separated from the other two but slowly in letting them be together while watching of course. The Rhode Island Red will still peck at the leghorn but not necessarily attack her. Any tips on how to get ten used to each other an possibly have them live in the same hutch?
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Hi dasexpanther. Welcome to BYC. I would say you're doing the right thing right now. Having the younger hen separated by a fence from the other two is something I'm doing right now. I have 5 New Hampshire Reds that are 3 yrs old, and 8 new chicks that range 12 to 16 weeks old. The chicks are in a fenced in area within the fenced area of my full grown hens. That way they all see each other. This past monday I introduced 2 black & silver wyandottes and 2 buff orpingtons to the NHR's. The chicks "hung out" together all day with no conflicts. They also have a lot of room to run away. At night, we have to shush them into the coop. As the other ones age, closer to 16 weeks, they'll be put in with the rest of the flock. There will be "attacks" by the dominant hen(s) until everyone knows their place. So, don't worry. You're doing good.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! X2, it is best to wait until the younger bird is about the same size as the older ones and then have a long period of the two flocks being able to see each other but no touching, through wire seem to work best, ie dividing the coop into two sections or keeping the new/younger ones in a cage inside the coup for a couple of weeks to a month at least. The chickens will get to know each other and sort of work out a pecking order before actually coming in contact with each other. After a week or two, letting them free range together is a good idea and should help... It will take a couple of weeks to get the pecking order sorted out. There is a nice article in the Learning Center on integrating flocks you might like to check out, the part about actually combining them is after the quarantine section https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock and a nice article using the wire method https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method
 

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