I don't know about the male/female status of your chick, but my rule of thumb is 10 weeks before putting the little ones in with the flock. Any younger and there always seem to be problems.

I agree, 8 weeks is too young, I wait until they are almost or full size before integrating to give them a fair chance. And no it doesn't mean that your chick is a pullet, I have seen my hens mounting other hens as a sign of dominance.

-Sheila

Most likely the chick is a hen, but still, Deuce is really jumping the gun! I assume he is very young and 'gung-ho' about his roosterly duties? :)

Give your little guys plenty of room to get away and things to take shelter under and keep an eye on them. You may also have to assume the Mama Hen role and step in if Deuce is too enthusiastic. Let him know that the chicks are your babies by getting between him and the chicks if he starts to get that glint in his eye. Doing this a few times, accompanied by a warning growl from you, can go a long way towards making him think twice.

I always turn my youngsters out into the flock at the age of 8 weeks, as long as the weather is fine and warm enough. I hold a few 'Meet & Greets' first so everyone can get acquainted and make sure to supervise the blending of the flock. So far never any problems, and I've been doing it that way for years. If your area is having colder weather, waiting until they are 9-10 weeks old certainly can't hurt. :)

Velvet ~:>

I definetly agree with everyone lese. 8 weeks is too young. If I were you, I would keep them contained until they are at least 10 to 11 weeks old.

I wonder if you named your roo after the movie "Deuce Bigalo" lol

Also, I have learned to put them in the coop with the others at night. After dark take the young ones in and set them on the roosts beside the older chickens. For some reason waking up with strangers makes the older ones much more accepting.

The last two nights I have kept the youngsters in their pen until the older ones are roosting for the night. This still gives them a couple of hours of free-ranging and they love it! They don't have much of a sense of when to go to bed--it can be nearly dark and they are still out--I usually end up luring them back with canned corn.
I could try putting them in the coop at night but IÂm afraid they would not stay on roosts. They are very closely bonded to each other and unless I could place all five at the same time, IÂm afraid they would jump down. I would also worry that very early the next morning the big ones might get aggressiveÂthat is when they are most energetic. We can divide the pen and the coop for awhileÂitÂs not the greatest for the older chickens but it has worked before.
HereÂs a picture of them, last eveningÂthey are on a bench right in front of the coopÂlooks like they canÂt wait to move in!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:39528}}