How I introduced new chickens to my flock - at 4 weeks old!

It's usual to only introduce new chickens to an existing flock once the new ones are big enough to fend for themselves - about the same size as the current chickens. But I didn't have the space to keep my new chicks separate until they grew up, so I moved them out to my main chicken coop when they were only 4 weeks old. It was a success - probably because:
- I had more new chicks than my old flock of three big hens
- I set up a temporary fence so the two groups could see and hear each other but not touch
- I kept the existing hens occupied and happily distracted from the new arrivals
- I ensured both groups had plenty of space and unhampered access to feed and water
- I gave the new chicks a chance to explore their surroundings while the hens were out of the way
- And because my new chicks were so much smaller than the existing hens, I was able to give them a hole in the separating fence that they could get through but the big hens could not.
It took four or five weeks of slowly decreasing the separation until my two flocks were happily coexisting full time, when the new chicks were still only 8 weeks old.

I recommend these strategies to anyone who needs to introduce new chickens to an existing flock.

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