- Feb 13, 2014
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When to introduce chicks to hens? I know this question is asked a lot.
Previously I had answered this question myself really casually "around 8 weeks". I'd like to share a recent experience we had. We have 4 month old pullets and 8 week old chicks. From about 4 weeks old, the chicks were right next to, but protected from the pullets. We thought we were doing everything right. They all had lots of room to roam and at 6 weeks we started letting them mingle for a few mins while we supervised. Things seemed fine and pecking was at a minimum. At 8 weeks we let the chicks out full time, even though they were really only 1/3 of the size of our big girls. They even slept on the roost next to the big girls. Unfortunately, the second morning after they integrated, my 10 year old son found our little roo, bloody, shaking and completely scalped in the corner. The injuries were so bad I didn't think he would live more then a few hours. Miraculously he is still fighting and is improving slowly each day. Please be careful. You can never be too sure what is happening when you aren't there. Don't rush the process. From now on we will be waiting till they are closer to the same size as the existing flock. A very sad lesson for my family.
Previously I had answered this question myself really casually "around 8 weeks". I'd like to share a recent experience we had. We have 4 month old pullets and 8 week old chicks. From about 4 weeks old, the chicks were right next to, but protected from the pullets. We thought we were doing everything right. They all had lots of room to roam and at 6 weeks we started letting them mingle for a few mins while we supervised. Things seemed fine and pecking was at a minimum. At 8 weeks we let the chicks out full time, even though they were really only 1/3 of the size of our big girls. They even slept on the roost next to the big girls. Unfortunately, the second morning after they integrated, my 10 year old son found our little roo, bloody, shaking and completely scalped in the corner. The injuries were so bad I didn't think he would live more then a few hours. Miraculously he is still fighting and is improving slowly each day. Please be careful. You can never be too sure what is happening when you aren't there. Don't rush the process. From now on we will be waiting till they are closer to the same size as the existing flock. A very sad lesson for my family.
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