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Please don't put the chicks outside with 4.5-month old pullets! Chickens should be as close to the same size as possible before they're introduced to one another. The older birds might very well kill your chicks.
But the one that came in was really nice to them and the other ones are really nice to. I could try to keep them in but they've been jumping out of their box and running around my room. I don't want them to get hurt though o.o What if I stayed out there the whole time my babies are out and watched them? Then brought them back in when I go in?
You're very fortunate that the hen you brought in to spend the night with the chicks didn't kill them. Very fortunate.
Can you create a portable run for the chicks? I have 4' tall portable dog fencing that I have surrounded with 2' high, 1/4" hardware cloth. I top it with 1/2" chicken wire and let my chicks out in that while I'm out working in the yard or sitting in the sun reading a book. I know other people who use portable playpens (the kind without a bottom), meant for toddlers.
As for the chicks jumping out of their box in your room, can you get a giant Rubber storage container, cut a hole in the lid, and cover the hole with hardwire cloth or something else that will prevent them from jumping out? (You can make vents in the sides the same way.) It's a very inexpensive way to create a brooder they can't jump out of.
I know it's frustrating when they reach this age and you don't have a large enough brooder or a transitional home between brooder and coop but with a little ingenuity, you should be able to come up with something that will give them more freedom and you more peace.
Edited to add: Please don't mix them with the older birds, not even if you stay out and watch them. Not so long ago, I integrated some same-age pullets after having them share the same space (a space that was new to each group of birds), separated by wire so they could see one another without causing harm, then letting them free-range together; then, finally, after weeks, putting the newbies in at night. I was there before sun-up the next morning, thankfully, and able to intervene when my three Buff Orpingtons hopped off their perch and began terrorizing the same-size and age newbies. Before I could get all the newbies out, the Orpingtons had grabbed one by each wing and tail and were pulling it apart. It was awful. Those birds were never able to integrate, despite my best efforts and patience. Sometimes that's just how it goes. Other times, integration can be surprisingly easy. It's always best to expect the worse and take it nice and slow.
Please don't put the chicks outside with 4.5-month old pullets! Chickens should be as close to the same size as possible before they're introduced to one another. The older birds might very well kill your chicks.
But the one that came in was really nice to them and the other ones are really nice to. I could try to keep them in but they've been jumping out of their box and running around my room. I don't want them to get hurt though o.o What if I stayed out there the whole time my babies are out and watched them? Then brought them back in when I go in?
You're very fortunate that the hen you brought in to spend the night with the chicks didn't kill them. Very fortunate.
Can you create a portable run for the chicks? I have 4' tall portable dog fencing that I have surrounded with 2' high, 1/4" hardware cloth. I top it with 1/2" chicken wire and let my chicks out in that while I'm out working in the yard or sitting in the sun reading a book. I know other people who use portable playpens (the kind without a bottom), meant for toddlers.
As for the chicks jumping out of their box in your room, can you get a giant Rubber storage container, cut a hole in the lid, and cover the hole with hardwire cloth or something else that will prevent them from jumping out? (You can make vents in the sides the same way.) It's a very inexpensive way to create a brooder they can't jump out of.
I know it's frustrating when they reach this age and you don't have a large enough brooder or a transitional home between brooder and coop but with a little ingenuity, you should be able to come up with something that will give them more freedom and you more peace.
Edited to add: Please don't mix them with the older birds, not even if you stay out and watch them. Not so long ago, I integrated some same-age pullets after having them share the same space (a space that was new to each group of birds), separated by wire so they could see one another without causing harm, then letting them free-range together; then, finally, after weeks, putting the newbies in at night. I was there before sun-up the next morning, thankfully, and able to intervene when my three Buff Orpingtons hopped off their perch and began terrorizing the same-size and age newbies. Before I could get all the newbies out, the Orpingtons had grabbed one by each wing and tail and were pulling it apart. It was awful. Those birds were never able to integrate, despite my best efforts and patience. Sometimes that's just how it goes. Other times, integration can be surprisingly easy. It's always best to expect the worse and take it nice and slow.
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