When to introduce new pullets to adult hen

[ton80gsp]

I have 1 hen left and want to get more chicks. How long should i keep the baby chicks from her?

 

[chicks are life]

At youngest 8 weeks.
breed is the one hen and what chicks are you getting?

The one hen will get depressed so I would get some started pullets and introduce them to her and if you still want more birds get babies after that.

 

[ton80gsp]

The one is a silver laced wayndotte. The pullets are about 2 wks old now they said. Prob Isa Browns which is what we had before. I cant find any babies older than that

 

[Folly's place]

Have your babies out in the coop with their heat source, separated by chicken wire from the hen, for another few weeks, until they are fully feathered. Then start letting them out in the run, and gradually with the hen when outside, while they learn to respect her space, and they get along. Mary

 

[azygous]

Mary's right. I insist the earlier you can expose baby chicks to an existing flock, the better off everyone is.

I urge folks that have secure runs to brood right in the run. This provides maximum exposure, and the chicks are accepted very early on. By the time mine are two weeks old they are already mingling with the adults and scooting back into their protective enclosure through chick size openings. This makes it safe for the tiny tots to be around the big chickens.

See my article linked below on outdoor brooding.

 

[ton80gsp]

Ok. I will have to figure out how to keep them in the coop with her but seperated

 

[ton80gsp]

How long for heat sorce?

 

[azygous]

Chicks feather out at different rates depending on how warm or cold it is. But as a rule, they no longer need heat during the day when they reach three weeks and it's at least 70F. They will need heat at night until they're around five weeks old.

Many of us use the heating pad system. It simplifies things and closely simulates a real hen.

 

[debid]

I did my introductions much earlier this time and it went well. I don't have a structure inside the coop/run but I do have the brooder right next to the hen run. I range the hens so I started with letting the chicks out while the hens were out for some supervised exploration. That was at 2 weeks. They had regular visits like this with the chicks "invading" the adult space to look around and the hens tolerating their presence more and more. By the time they were 12 weeks, they'd moved in with the hens without any major squabbling. It was the most peaceful integration I've done by a far stretch.

 

[ton80gsp]

We are getting the new chicks on Friday or Saturday. I dont have a brooder so I will make something to put inside the coop. They will be about 2 weeks old so i will also make sure there is heat support.