When to Intervene.

[JodyJo]

So I have 16 16 week old pullets, and 3 6 week olds...I need to get them together, I have the little ones in the coop and run, at night I catch them and put them back in their separate cage inside the coop with the big girls, but now the older girls are getting ready to lay, I need to get the nesting boxes open in the coop for them. I tried to release the younger ones the other day, and all Heck broke loose. So if I tackle it again say tomorrow, my day off to monitor it all, when is enough enough? When do you step in and help out the smaller ones?

I don't want blood shed, but I need them together soon. Do I wait till the little ones are a bit bigger?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Where are the little ones during the day? And where are the older ones during the day?

6 weeks is pretty small compared to 16 week old chickens. It's possible, but it'll be a lot more work. You would want to give the little ones hiding places where they can get away from the bigger ones. Tape cardboard to their crate in the coop so only they can fit through. Plus you have 16 older ones and 3 younger ones, so it's possible for a bunch of them to gang up on the babies. If it were me, I'd wait until they were a bit bigger.

 

[dianaross77]

I agree I'd wait too. The little ones are really outnumbered. But I did successfully integrate 2 8 week old silkies in with 4 14 week old Isas. I just put them in the same run and fenced it off so the little ones were in sight. After a week of that, I opened the fence. The silkies have a plastic tote with a hole cut in it just big enough for them to fit but not the Isas. I supervised and when they would get picked at, I would usher them into the hole in the tote. They figured it out. It did get a little ugly, some pulled feathers. And the Isas would not share the feeder or waterer so I had to have 2 sets for quite a while. They really need places to hide and know how to find them quickly.