what age do you put the young hens in with the older ones

[buckaroogirl]

Bah. Not letting me upload photo

 

[CinnamonQueen]

How long will it take for the pecking order to be sorted out if I slip in my two 18-week old pullets in the hen's coop (i have 3 hens) at night?

 

[silkiechicken]

Every flock is different. Could be a few days, could be weeks. But, just make sure they have an area to get away from the picking.

 

[ChickenRaiser95]

i put them in once the little ones are fully feathered

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

i put them in once the little ones are fully feathered

Roosters I put in a little earlier then the hens. The hens around twelve weeks. Please make comments if I am totally off on when I should be putt'n em' together.

 

[Ninamm]

I have a little BR in with 4 pullets and 3 hens and they pick on the lil chick all the time. the chick is about 2 months old...here she is.
Her name is Peep...

 

[Tilde]

We have been trying to integrate our 9 week old pullets into the house with the others for a few weeks now. It is not going very well. They can get out of the house and into the run if they need to, but this morning I went out and one of the babies has been pecked to death. It must have traumatized some of the others because tonight one of the babies decided it would be better to roost in a tree. And another baby followed her. I got them out of the tree and now they are inside in a cage. I guess all flocks are different. In my case, this has not been easy. We will need to find a way to separate them in the chicken house.

Maybe the question of this thread should be 'How do you introduce young hens with the older ones?'

 

[cortner1195]

Last year we had a horrible experience integrating two groups of pullets about three months apart. The older ones were relentless. I did all the things suggested. Putting them in a penned off section of the house, then working them in together while free ranging. They still picked on the babies any time they went out into the pen. The little ones were forced to sleep in nooks and crannies to find a safe place. I eventually had to re home the younger 6 as they wouldn't leave the hen house. Even while free ranging, the babies would get chased to the neighbor's property.

Now I have three older hens left, and nine pullets to mix in. This year we built a grow out pen with a dog house for shelter. The two runs are adjacent. All is well so far. They free range in the evenings together. The laying hens range farther, and have their own tasks. The pullets stay close to their pen, with lots of flight practice. There is occasional tail pulling, and one episode of planned attack. But mostly I keep them too busy with treats and attention to worry about the generation gap. The pullets are now 12 weeks old. I will wait until point of lay to mix into one pen/ house. I am hoping for a much smoother transition this year.
It may help us that we recently lost my lead hen to a probable hawk attack. The remaining three are in a state of reorganization right now anyway.

 

[Fentress]

Lot's of variables. I free range so I have the luxury of lots of room. When my broodies were hatching out I let the adult flock have free range over the entire property too increase separation even more. When they would roll back around to the coop there were a few minor incidents for a few days, but that did not last. I also have another young flock from the hatchery. At present, I have a flock of adults, a flock of 9 weeks olds and a smaller flock of 5 week olds, all together under the same roof and ranging together. No deaths and no injuries. However, the young ones are roosting in the nest boxes, looks like they are telling me that they want their own roost.

Mark

 

[aoxa]

Um, am I lucky or something? My chicks are 5 1/2 weeks old and they are fine with the older ones, just an occasional you're-too-close peck. I do have lots of space though.

I'm with you! I have 3 week old chicks who slept in the big barn with the old girls (and guys) last night! Even the goats!

I guess I don't baby them. They need to learn. They are all free ranging now.

It may help that I have 120 chicks and only 25 adults. The attention is not just focused on a few little chicks.