How hoary must kid chicks be earlier they can team up the elder chickens? ?
They really can go with the older chickens rapidly if they were hatched by the mom here. If they were adopted, then linger until the feathers come, then they are old enough to run for sanctuary if an older one chases it.
I NEVER allow my hens to raise up their chicks on their own as I am afraid that my other birds will hurt the chicks.
I NEVER allow my hens to raise up their chicks even in another pen from my other chickens as the chicks other seem to find a way to get through the rope and get in with the other birds. . . Thank God I caught this within time when I attempted to allow the hen to raise up her chicks in my other pen.
I raise up my chicks separate and apart from their mother and the other birds and I NEVER allow them surrounded by the pen with my adult birds until those chicks are of equal size to the adult birds. I am afraid of the fully fledged birds doing too much pecking in establishing their pecking order and hurting the younger birds.
As my chicks feather up and are set to go outside I keep them contained by a pen by themselves until they are of adequate size so that they are better able to take keeping of themselves when I do put them in with the adult birds and this will come and go according to the breed of the chick as some breeds gain size slower than others.
As a generalization I would have to say that I hang on to my chicks separate until they are about 3months old give or run depending on their breed.
When I introduce not only young birds but any new birds,I do this on my weekends rotten so that I can watch the interaction. I keep all of the birds together closed up within my major hen house for a minimum of 3 days and nights. . . I have a peak door on my hen house so they are not without sunlight/fresh air. Doing this teaches the unsullied chickens where they are to roost at night and it allows them to meet the unsullied bigger birds that they will now be living with.
I do this on my days off so I can survey and if the pecking gets too much for the younger birds to handle I return them to the subsidiary hen house I have and give them another week or so before trying it again.
It is also easier to introduce strange cockerels to my Head Rooster as they are young enough the Head Rooster recognizes them as a impartial bird and the establishment of Head Rooster isn't as traumatic as if I introduced a full grown rooster to the Head Rooster.
Because my Head Rooster fathered all of my younger birds,I will be getting rid of him and his offspring cockerels as I am not into interbreeding though nearby is nothing wrong with it except that the more interbreeding you draw from,the more the quality of your birds is lessened. . . . Egg layers breeds will lay less eggs and Meat birds will lessen contained by size with long term interbreeding.
Good Luck and if I can be of further relieve you can contact me through Yahoo Answers.
Answers: 1-2 months because they will be big enough to take a beating because of the chain of command.
We usually hang on to ours separated until they are about 4 weeks old. By then they are wearing clothes sized and can defend themselves by running away from the bigger chickens. They don't really get picked on thoroughly long. They learn their pecking order within days.
