by Zach
(Cordele, ga)
Question
Return to Baby Chick Questions.
by Eric
(Pleasant Hill, Oregon)
Question
When to introduce chicks to adult chickens? When is a good time to introduce baby chicks to my adult chickens? My adult road island red chickens are vary sweet and my chicks are stinking the house up. they are almost fully feathered.
Answer
You can introduce them anytime you are able to spend a day or more watching and making sure the adults are kind to them. You never can tell how chickens will respond to little ones invading their territory.
Some hens may be motherly and some may try to chase them off, possibly harming or even killing them in the process. I make it a rule not to mix the old and young till the young are close to full grown.
For now, they should be on a grower feed, which is different from your layer feed, so it would be hard to keep them or your adults on the right feed.
It’s usually a good idea to have a very large cage or safe pen to finish raising the chicks outdoors, where you can continue to offer a heat lamp during these unpredictable Spring days and nights.
Smaller chickens are at a big disadvantage when it comes to pecking order; doesn’t matter if they are Banties or young layers, male or female. Inexperienced chicks trying to compete for food and space can get harmed when not introduced with a hen that is a member of the flock.