About what age can the young chicks be out with the big chicks?
I would make sure they are close to the same size as chickens have a pecking order & can be brutal! They can pick on a smaller weaker one till they kill it. Jody
if they are free ranging then as soon as they are feathered out they can mingle. the little ones will have enough room to run to avoid the bigger ones if necessary.
Jerry, Jody is right, they can get picked on. Randy is right too. It just depends I think on the size of the pen. We have enormous areas where the little ones can run away to get away from the bigger ones. When we hatch chickens in the incubator, they stay in a warm house for about 2 weeks and then we put them into another area, by themselves, until they feather out. I would say about a month old. They are still pretty small, but they can outrun the bigger ones and hide, because they are smaller. So, Jerry, my opinion would be, depends on the size of the chicken coop/run. If you wait until they are almost the size of the other birds, that would be at least to the point of about 4 to 5 months old. Have a most wonderful day, a great life. Cindi
They run loose all over the place.
Jerry, well then, running loose, they should be able to escape any chicken that decides to pick on them. If they are mostly feathered out, let 'em run!!!!! Put them together, I do. Beautiful and most wonderful day, love this great life we all live and share. Cindi
if they are loose, think about predators including cats and dogs.
Mine are freerange also but they still come back to the henhouse at dusk. I lock them up at that time and they stay in there until i let them out in the morning. What I have a divided henhouse. Old birds free range and roost in one side. young birds stay in a fenced in run during the day and roost in the other side. The hen house is divided with chicken wire so they have time to adjust without beating on each other.
Danno, that is about my set up. I have a place I run the little ones into close to sunset and close them up, then open the gate for the big'uns. When they get in I shut the door till morning when I open the door and wait for the older ones to clear the building, close the gate and let the little ones loose.
The big roosters are already whupping up on the chihuahuas. The stray cat that adopted us got locked up in with the little chicks one night. (The little chicks that are the big ones now). Didn't bother them. I thought it was weird because this cat catches birds, rabbits, gophers..... just doesn't mess with the chickens.
And the coyotes stay about a half mile away.
Today I let them mingle together. There was some chasing and feather pulling, but I think it is mostly out of their system now and getting along as well as.... um... chickens.