When can I put the wee ones with the teenagers?

[festivefeet]

Hi there.

I have five 7.5 week old chicks (1 buff orpington, 2 easter eggers and 2 silver laced wyandottes) living out in the run and hen house right now. I just acquired two new babies yesterday. They are currently in the shed in a plastic container with a heat lamp. One is an easter egger and the other is a silkie. I think they are about two weeks old, estimated. Not for sure though. Still little. The feathers that they have are mostly wing at this point.

What is the best thing to do with the new babies....keep them separate, put them with the others in the hen house? If I keep them separate, when can they go with the others and do I need to keep watch. I am just not sure what the proper way to do this is and I don't want them to get pecked to death. I have a possible rooster with in the 7.5 week old chick group, will that matter? Please let me know your thoughts. Yesterday the chicks had to be with the possible rooster in the box that they are in and he pecked at them a lot. They ran to the corner and hid...that concerned me.

Thanks.
Jessica

 

[debilorrah]

Hi Jessica!!! Please see my BYC page for integrating information....

 

[cmom]

I Quarantine the new chicks for at least a month before I put the birds together. I put them next to each other so they can see each other and get used to each other being there. There will be a period of establishing the pecking order once the new chicks are put in with the existing chicks. If you put them in together now the older ones may peck at and hurt the younger chicks. You can try and put them together and see how it goes but be prepared to separate them if you need to. Not all integrations are the same. Each situation is different. Some breeds are more docile than others. All birds are different and have their own personalities. I have had very docile birds and some that were very aggressive. What works for someone else may or may not necessarily work for you. My BYC Page also has an added page on how I integrated my flocks.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

You need to wait until they are real close to the same size. I put mine in a cage inside the coop so the other could see them. A couple of days later I let them out with the big girls and the big girls didnt like them at all...so back in their cage they went.

I read on here how putting them on the roost by the others at night works well so that what i did and it worked! There was some pecking order over the next couple of days but now is its all good. I have 6 more that i have to add to the flock in about 6 weeks so I hope it works out again. I sit in the coop or run with them and watch them interact and protect the new ones from the older ones.