introducing chicks to the flock

[CocalicoSprings]

My four chicks hatched around August 20th from one of my hens sitting on eggs. I separated them and raised them with a lamp and now they are getting to the point where they look healthy enough to introduce them to the rest of the flock of 10 hens and a rooster.
I read on the internet that they should be 60 days old before they are ready to be placed in their long term coop with the rest of the flock. Is this accurate?

[Head Roller]

Yes.. that is correct... 9-10 weeks and fully feathered is the normal "introduction" age. Regardless of when you add them, they have to be initiated into the "pecking order", so they need to have their protective feathers and you should keep a close eye on them for several days.

Here is what I did this summer... I let the older chicks out of the coop in the morning, and then put the young ones into the coop with the door closed for the day... for about 3 days.. i put the babies back in their brooding hutch for the night. The first night that I let them stay all together, I hung out in the yard and peeked through their window to make sure that the new ones were not getting too harassed. After that first successful night, everything seemed to be just fine.

[bee]

The fact that you have more than one is a plus. I find the more chicks introduced at once keeps the hens from ganging and chasing the same chick.
Check the area out before introduction and try to avoid having corners where a chased chick can get trapped.
Some folks make a "chick escape" area that they can get in for food and saftey that a full grown bird can't get into.
For my turkey poults, I put them in a cage in the larger adult pen area for a couple of weeks so they can all "meet" each other and when released the poults are largely ignored.