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Be sure to transition them slowly away from lamp heat day by day so they don’t have temperature shock. After a few days of slowly weening them off of the heat lamp you should be good to go. In early July we had a bear attack and lost all but two of our chickens and one rooster. So now I’m waiting for them to get big enough to put them all together. Our Rooster is pretty frisky, so I don’t want to put him in with the hens just yet. I have another month and a half to go before I can combine the flock.
So it all depends on your chickens, but I say go for it. If you are raising baby chicks you will be keeping them inside for a lot of this time anyway, so no need to isolate when they are full size. Raising chickens is an addictive hobby, I don't know anyone who was able to stay with just one or two hens. You may run into several different issues and problems when adding a variety of breeds to your flock. The most important reason is the possible difference in the sizes of the flock members. Larger breeds, as a rule, tend to be the most dominant in a flock.
Only introduce birds that are of a similar size
His 2 female cows have given us another bull & heferd & close to giving us 1 each. I wouldn’t trade it for for anything, the chickens fall in love with the 1 that takes care of them, I love it when they run up to greet me. Unfortunately, the first time we integrated flocks we learned a terrible lesson. We needed to move the chicks out of the brooder for space so Matt sectioned off one side of the coop with chicken wire. Introducing chickens to the flock can be a stressful experience for both the new chickens and your existing flock. If you’re bringing in new chickens, it’s important to introduce them slowly to avoid undue stress and injury.
When you first set up your coop, add as many different breeds as possible so that they can get used to each other and become comfortable living together. There are several different ways that you can go about introducing new chickens, depending on the size of your yard and the temperament of your entire flock. During the first stage of introducing new chickens to your backyard flock, it’s essential to keep them in a separate area from the other chickens.
Quarantine Before Introducing New Chickens
Before you put all the chickens in the new pen, make sure there is enough space for all the birds. It’s also a good idea to add a few hiding places for any picked on birds to escape. When adding new chickens to your flock, try not to do it solo. Instead, add more than one so that fights and bullying from the current pack will be distributed among them. To avoid this, be sure to provide enough food and water for everyone. This will help the chickens to feel more comfortable and less likely to fight.
Until there’s an entire organization, laying some eggs may be halted. Be watchful for indications if the old chickens are pecking the newcomers excessively. Bald patches, wounds, and bleeding are indications that the chickens will need more time to settle. If you take home chickens from another flock or store, quarantine them first before merging. While the chickens you bought may seem in good condition, some illnesses require time to develop. It can be better to select a buddy from the same flock and isolate them together temporarily in a different coop or maybe permanently.
Try The Sleeping Introduction
Bob the chickens quietly into their new chicken house, have a quick glance to ensure they have travelled well and have no major problems or knocks. Chickens who are similar in size and age are likely to adjust to each other more easily. Pay attention to the traits of the chickens you’re planning to buy and try to find some who will fit in well with your existing flock. Remember that smaller, weaker birds are far more likely to be the victim of bullying.
Allowing new birds to stay a few days or weeks within pecking distance of your flock is a good idea. It is best not to use the same fence for both enclosures since the older hens will struggle through the wire. Introducing new chickens to an existing flock is not easy. First, you should only bring in birds that are the same size or smaller than your current population so they don’t compete with each other for food and space.
Chickens live in flocks for a reason — having other birds around keeps them safe from predators and helps them find food. If you bring a new bird into their existing flock, the existing birds may view this as an intruder and try to chase it away. This can be dangerous for the new bird and stressful for everyone involved. It takes time for the chickens to accept each other and they should not be forced together. It is best to introduce new chickens when they are young, with an age difference of no more than 6 months. If you’ve purchased young pullets, don’t let them out until they are fully feathered .
In terms of integrating baby chicks with the adults of your flock, you are pretty safe to let nature take its course. Hopefully, if you follow the two steps above, you will only need to do this step once. Some of your flock members may be breeds that tend to exhibit more territorial aggression than others. Depending on the situation, the new members may need up to 3-4 attempts before they are successfully integrated. In a few minutes, let the existing flock members out of their coop and allow them to mingle with the new kids.
In the next stage, place a small pen inside your run where you’ll put the newcomers. The younger and older chickens will see each other and grow acclimated. You may also do something as basic as enclosing part of the run with chicken wire to restrict the mature chickens from mingling with the newcomers. If you plan to introduce chicks to an adult flock, wait until the chicks are at least 6 to 8 weeks old. If the chicks are not large enough to protect themselves, old, more giant chickens might kill them.
I have tried reintroducing separated chickens by putting them in at night didn’t seem to help. If the chicks are a little smaller in size it gives the hens a little bit of an advantage so they aren’t picked on to much. Before we brought out the chicks we locked the older hens in the A-frame. This was mostly to be able to go back and forth grabbing the chicks from the other coop without worrying anyone would be too aggressive while we did it.
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