Can I put my 12 week old barred rocks in with my older chickens?

[bwillschicks1204]

Can I put my 12 week old barred rocks in with my older chickens? Older chickens range from 20 weeks to 2 years. Its 2 Rhode Island Reds and 5 Novagen Browns that are the older ones. The new 12 week Barred Rocks are about the same size as the Novagen Browns.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I'd put the new ones where they can see the old ones but not interact with them for a couple weeks, so they can get used to each other a bit. Then you can put them in there. Just make sure there's lots of space for them to get away, because they'll have to sort out the pecking order.

 

[bwillschicks1204]

I'd put the new ones where they can see the old ones but not interact with them for a couple weeks, so they can get used to each other a bit. Then you can put them in there. Just make sure there's lots of space for them to get away, because they'll have to sort out the pecking order.

Yes, the young chickens have been in a large cage inside the large run where the other chickens are for just over 2 weeks. They can see each other and they have been right next to each other eating. One of the feeders is next to the cage (where new chickens are) and the older chickens eat right next to them. The younger ones even poke their head out and eat out of the same feeder (even though they have their own in their cage). I guess I can go ahead and see how it goes with putting them together. Thank you.