When should I introduce the little guys to the coop?

[LukeandAli]

I have 18 in the incubator (I'm thinking I'll get 10-12) and 2 that are 7 weeks old that are not in the coop yet. In the coop, I have 1 that is 16 weeks old and 7 that are somewhere around 13 weeks (we're guessing by comparing them to the 16 weeker because their previous owner did not know their age). At what age should I introduce the new guys to the coop? Should it be sooner than normal because my other chickens are still relatively young?

Last night the 16 weeker (Gracie) stayed in the same pen as the 7 weekers (Miracle and Max) and they loved it (Grace cried when I took the little guys out to meet our neighbors' granddaughters). Now that we have 8 that are coop-ready, we put them in the coop and the two little ones are alone in the garage pen. Should I be worried about the little ones being picked on if we put them together, since ALL of the chickens are new (within the last 24 hours)?

TIA

 

[Lidea teapot]

It's a hard one to answer I'd try it for a day you can supervise and see how it goes. Then keep a close eye on them till they all start clucking. That's what I would do unless someone gave me good reason not to. I think its ok so long as their are no adults. They should all find their place together by then.

 

[LukeandAli]

Thanks, Lidea! I'll give them a try tomorrow.

 

[Lidea teapot]

Let me know how they get on.

 

[Life is Good!]

If the chicks came from different sources and are older than a few days old, please consider quarrantine! This is where you seperate chicks of any age from anyone else in the flock for 30days to verify health status. Why? Diseases that are spread through environment or living conditions (i.e. other birds). Unless the other flock is your direct neighbor, you don't know what they had in their ground or their other birds!

Search 'quarrantine' in the box above to learn more (likely from the Emergencies/Injuries/Diseases and Cures section of the forum).

 

[LukeandAli]

We have ended up waiting. There is a small space in the temporary coop where the little guys could get out if they tried hard enough. DH is planning to fix it tomorrow. We have quarantined the birds to make sure everyone is healthy enough to be introduced to one another. Everyone looks good!