When to integrate my 2 week olds to my 8 week olds?

[mrstiffanymayer]

I have 6 chickens (2 RIR, 2 BR, and 2 RSL with one most likely being a cock and therefore not a RSL) that are 8 weeks old. They are in the coop at night and early morning and free range in the back yard most of the day.

A week ago, I got 4 week old EE's.

When and how should I go about introducing the small ones to the bigger ones?

I read the intro page and it talks about introducing chicks in brooders and then young chicks to adult chickens... but I didn't see a category where my situation fits in.

I meant to say, I (stupidly) tried to introduce them all ready and there was lots of pecking and baby chick chirping/screaming so I immediately removed them, and then read up on the site about it.

 

[jthayerkatz]

Here is my story, I hope it helps you with your situation.
I have 2 hens that are 1 year old. Next, I have 11 RIR pullets that are 8 weeks old. Lastly, I have 7 Barred rock pullets, 3 Rock roos and 7 Leghorn pullets that are all 5 weeks old.
The reds went outside into the coop at 3 weeks of age. (We needed the brooder for the rocks and leghorns). My coop has 2 sections, and the reds went into the "baby section' so that the big girls would not hurt them. After 2 weeks of confinement in the baby section, we let the reds out into the pen while the big girls free ranged. Then we let the reds out to free range with the big girls after about a week. There was some pecking but it was minor and normal behavior.
Then, we moved the rocks and leghorns outside when they were 3 weeks old and repeated the process. We did wait until this past week to let the rocks and leghorns out because we wanted them to have most of their feathers as protection against any pecking. The reds and the rocks get along better than the reds and the big girls do. This method worked for me, but everyone has different experiences. Hope you find the right solution that works for you.