When can I introduce my new chicks to the older ones?

[Den in Penn]

carriej06: Welcome to BYC.
If the runs have hiding places and things to break the lines of sight you could let the broody and chick mix now. I have let my broodies mix with the flock from the day the chicks hatch. New moms tend to be much more aggressive with newly hatched chicks to protect. At 8 weeks that aggressiveness may be waning, My last broody raised chicks have been weaned at eight weeks. So when you do let them mix watch. With the two 4 week olds you are right to wait till they are big enough to take the struggle for a place in the pecking order. I usually start letting them mix around 10 weeks, while still sleeping in a separate place.

 

[astanton]

My chicks are 6 weeks old and my hens are 10 months old. I had the babies out in the yard the other day which butts up to my hens run and let one of hens out. The chicks are interested in the adults, but keep getting pecked when they get too close.
Am I better off keeping them within eye sight until the chicks are a bit bigger? I'm afraid that the big girls would injure or even kill the babies...

 

[Den in Penn]

My chicks are 6 weeks old and my hens are 10 months old. I had the babies out in the yard the other day which butts up to my hens run and let one of hens out. The chicks are interested in the adults, but keep getting pecked when they get too close.
Am I better off keeping them within eye sight until the chicks are a bit bigger? I'm afraid that the big girls would injure or even kill the babies...

Yes it is better to keep them separate until they are old enough for the rough and tumble of establishing themselves in the pecking order. You can give them a play area, where they can see each other while they are growing up. This will help them get to know each other and lessen the tension during integration.

 

[HappyChickadee]

I basically threw my baby roosters out about 4 days ago at 7 and 8 weeks old. I waited to see what the reaction was and the girls (about a year old) griped about it - lots of chitter chatter about it and strangely (at least it was not what I expected) the lowest on the pecking order of the big girls was the one to chase the boys off. I just had to watch and make sure that the girls were not going to go overboard and hurt them. The boys got the hint quickly and basically they stay on one side of the yard and the girls stay on the other. If the roo's accidentally pass by where one of them is laying an egg then the girls will scream, it is quite funny. lol The boys are so oblivious at this age that the girls are something special. They are like little man babies.

They don't go into the hen house with the ladies. I take the boys back in to sleep in their brooder in the garage at night. I actually am not planning on keeping the roosters because I can't have them in the city - I am still trying to rehome them. I just could not let them stay in that brooder any longer. They are getting way too big.