When should I put my chicks/pullets in with my older flock?

[3520]

I have 3 chicks that are basically pullets now because they are about 4 or 5 weeks old. Currently they are housed in a tote bin in my garage. They are more or less feathered out, with just a little bit of fluff around the head. It is really cold out right now because this is Michigan, so I don't want to move them to a larger inclosure outside just yet because they are still on a heat lamp. When it has been a little bit warmer in the afternoon, I've put them outside with the big chickens. This has always resulted in multiple pecks and fights from the big hens and I had to step in to rescue the little chicks/pullets. They are like a quarter the size of the big hens right now, so I'm worried if I move them in they will get hurt. They look so sad and cramped in their little tote bin, so is it safe to move them outside right now when its getting down to 25 degrees at night and its about 40-45 in the day? And, when is the appropriate time to move them in with the big hens?

 

[mtnviewfarms]

you need to construct or find - like a used child's playhouse you can recycle - a much larger safe space inside your garage because your temps are way too cold for them to be outside and they are being beaten up by the hens because they are way too young to be with them AND they need different feed than the hens until they begin laying.

i am currently raising 19 day old chicks indoors in my sunroom in a pre-brooder box on legs made by my wonderful woodworker husband of wood with a large window screen for a lid over which the two red brooder lamps are hung and he built into the front frame a plexyglass window that spans the entire length of the 6 foot long brooder box and made a door with handle on top of one side where i can easily service their three waterers. they will thrive in their pre-brooder home until they are 3 weeks old at which time
we will transfer them to a similar but much larger brooder box my husband built that is located in one of the rooms of our chicken house where they will live until they are about the age your girls are now.

we then open a door on the front of the brooder box - this one is on legs but only about a foot off the ground - and as they are ready they exit the brooder box into the larger room that has tree branches at various heights for them to play and roost on.

the easiest way to raise chicks is if one of your hens goes broody, sits a clutch of 12 fertilized eggs for 21 days then as soon as they hatch in the 'main' hen and rooster part of the chicken house and 'mom' wants to take them out of the nest, we carefully move them and the broody hen to a safe room in the chicken house where she raises the chicks and we just have to put in fresh water and medicated chick crumble daily.

in our experience, most broodies will let you know when they are ready to take their chicks outside to meet the large hen and rooster flock - any time from two weeks old to four weeks old. since the hen protects and stays with them until they are accepted into the flock they can be integrated at a much earlier age then the ones in your situation.

i don't introduce new pullets to the big flock until they have laid their first few 'pullet' eggs which means they can be switched to layer pellets. by this time they are from 5 to seven months of age a large enough to 'hold their own' and learn their place in the pecking order. make sure you sneak them in the big coop when the others have gone up to roost for the night, put the three girls on a branch together - since they are bonded with each other they will be able to stay together for protection as they navigate the tricky world of establishing their place in the pecking order of the flock.

NEVER PUT A SINGLE BIRD OF ANY AGE IN WITH AN ESTABLISHED FLOCK.

hope this is helpful