When is it safe to introduce new chicks back into the main flock?

[BENNY]

I have 5 RIR hens and 1 rooster that are all hand raised from 2 days old to their present age of 11 months. One hen went broody and hatched 5 chicks which are now 5 weeks old and fully feathered out. The hen and chicks have been separated from the rest of the chickens for 8 weeks now by chicken wire. They are all still in the same coop where they can see each other but can’t touch each other. Yesterday it was 75 degrees so I let the chicks outside with their mother and one of the other hen began chasing the chicks. I separated them and put the chicks back up. The mother laid her first egg today since she went broody. Will the hens let the chicks alone are should I wait longer until the chicks can defend themselves. Would like to put the whole bunch back together but I am scared for the safety of the mother hen and chicks. Is it always this hard to reintroduce the mother hen and chicks back into the flock ? Am I to protective? I would like to see them all together as one family. Any help would be appreciated. Benny

 

[elmo]

Usually it's recommended to keep chicks in a separate grow out pen until they're pretty much full grown before you integrate them with the rest of the flock. Otherwise, the size differential can make the bullying just too bad.

 

[BENNY]

Thanks for the response. New at this, and really didn't know the correct thing to do. Really need to build another pen for the newborn and keep them seperate until size is equal. That is what I will do. Thanks again. Benny