Will They Be Fine If I Supervise?

[KikiDeAnime]

Our four 8 week old chicks and 15 week old chick have been living in the chick coop for about 2 weeks so they've been interacting with the older flock without being harmed.

Would a few minutes a day be fine for them to be let out freely?
I plan on supervising them so nobody gets hurt.

I'm mainly worried about our dominant BLR Wyandotte hen that may decide to attack them. Should I lock her up in the coop run while the chicks are out?

The big chicken yard has objects for them to hide under or behind.

 

[sourland]

Have a 'Plan B' in mind, but give it a try.

 

[Compost King]

Plan B is always a must, but I get the feeling you won't need it. Just be sure they have places to hide and no dead end traps to get cornered in.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Not understanding ... they've been interacting with the older flock without being harmed ... Is it a See but no touch interaction? Plan B is a must, chickens on attack move alot faster than you think.

How about sectioning off with wire a corner of the coop/run so the adults can't harm the chicks. Or get a wire cage, put chicks with food/water in it & the cage in the coop/run. If you the Wyandotte is the biggest concern, put her in the wire cage with food/water in the coop/run.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Not understanding ... they've been interacting with the older flock without being harmed ... Is it a See but no touch interaction? Plan B is a must, chickens on attack move alot faster than you think.

How about sectioning off with wire a corner of the coop/run so the adults can't harm the chicks. Or get a wire cage, put chicks with food/water in it & the cage in the coop/run. If you the Wyandotte is the biggest concern, put her in the wire cage with food/water in the coop/run.

Yes, they were in their chick coop which is in the chicken yard where the flock's coop is in.
We can't section off more than we've already sectioned off.
I'll just put the wyandotte in the coop run so she can't attack them.

 

[alexa009]

The younger they are integrated.. the better. Introducing them when they are mature will cause the younger ones to retaliate leading to even worse fighting and there will be more aggression. Provide places to get away such as roosting poles, perches etc. The bossy hen will gradually get used to them as they start to mature. There is really no other alternative unless you want the hen to be removed or rehomed.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

The younger they are integrated.. the better. Introducing them when they are mature will cause the younger ones to retaliate leading to even worse fighting and there will be more aggression. Provide places to get away such as roosting poles, perches etc. The bossy hen will gradually get used to them as they start to mature. There is really no other alternative unless you want the hen to be removed or rehomed.

We've never had a problem with putting mature hens in with the flock before. Only had problems when we've tried to introduce pullets.