[tobytoby]

My 9 chicks are now 13 weeks old and kept in a separate electric netting run and house next to my free range older girls x 17. Ultimately i would like them all in the one house and all free range. So my dilemma is, how to adapt them into the one house?
Should i lift them into the main house in the dark and let them fight it out or should i let them have the choice to mix between houses if they want for a couple of weeks?
A couple of older hens have been in with the chicks without any fighting, but i wonder if the the larger group will bully the chicks?
Maybe the chicks will get defended by the young Cockerel who has been raised along with the chicks?
Any thoughts welcomed?

[kegs]

If it were me, I would put the new chicks in the coop late at night once the others have gone in to sleep.  You may have to get up extra early tomorrow to let them out just in case of any fighting (keep some Gentian Purple violet handy just in case) and make sure you double the number of feeders and drinkers and put items in the run if possible to give the chicks places to hide/escape in case of bullying.


I've just integrated 13 chicks with 4 existing 1 year olds and there weren't any problems once I put in extra feeders. 

[in the hills]

Do your older hens free range at the moment?


I would allow the older hens out to free range and also the young birds. This way they mix initially when outdoors and able to get out of each others way. I would leave both run doors open so the youngsters continue to sleep in their own coop for another few weeks and also have their own food and hence no competition with older birds. In another few weeks the young birds will also be better able to defend themselves against established birds .... still quite young at 13 wks in my opinion.


A cockerel at 13 wks will not really be able to "boss" the older hens and establish himself as top of the pecking order. They do say not to put a cockerel in with older hens until he is mature himself as he maybe bullied and put off from doing his duty later on.    Not sure how true that is as mine always free range together first and are not confined in a run together until later.