Mixing of younger chicks with older chicks...

[Julpost]

I have 4 2-week old chicks and 2 new chicks that just arrived today. Can I put them in together??

 

thanks!

[jacqui in mo]

the mix of older "chicks" & younger "chicks" works pretty well on this board.;)

 

Sorry, couldn't resist. :D

[Adrianne]

the mix of older "chicks" & younger "chicks" works pretty well on this board.;)

 

Sorry, couldn't resist. :D

 

:lol:

[supermom]

and it worked. I couldn't take the smell in the garage anymore or the mess....so I put them out in the coop. My hens usually go out wandering during the day and only come in to lay their eggs. So during the day, the chicks had the coop mostly to themselves and only occasionally got a bit of pecking from the hens. We monitored quite a bit to make sure they were going to be okay. Then at night, I closed them up inside the coop in their wire cage (the big hens could get used to them, but not hurt them)....so that when all the hens came in for the night, they wouldn't get bombarded. After about a week or two, I was able to trust them all to be free together. They are now 8 weeks old and are doing great. No problems whatsoever and they go in and out of the coop sometimes like the big hens, but they stay right close to the hen-house...which is good. Today, we had a hawk swoop down and grab a big hen, but did not get a good hold. WHEW! I can't imagine seeing our big hen flying through the air in a hawk's mouth!!

 

Monica

[Doran]

I have 4 2-week old chicks and 2 new chicks that just arrived today. Can I put them in together??

 

thanks!

 

 

Since your numbers are small, it might work out just fine. The only time I've had to mix two batches of different age chicks, I had something like 40 of each, so I had to keep them separate.

 

Here's the concern:

 

The older chicks will bully the little ones and keep them from getting to the food and water, pick on them, and generally make life miserable. You'll need to watch very carefully to be sure no one is getting picked on or trampled.

 

Temperatures are different for the two week olds vs. the 2 day olds. If there is enough room outside the 95° "heat circle" so the bigger ones can move to cooler areas, and no problem with the littles staying near the warmer spaces, then it should be fine.

 

Be sure the waterer and feeder heights suit the pee-wees since the bigger chicks will be able to reach where the tiny ones can't.

 

 

 

I have the feeling people do this all the time, it's just that we always had such big groups that it made any potential problems that much bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

Bet they're cute! :001_smile:

[Robin in Tx]

LOL! I was just getting ready to say that when I read the title of the thread, I thought she was asking about *us*. LOL

[OnTheBrink]

I thought this was going to be a thread about older women mentoring younger ones! LOL

[expat91]

Since your numbers are small, it might work out just fine. The only time I've had to mix two batches of different age chicks, I had something like 40 of each, so I had to keep them separate.

 

Here's the concern:

 

The older chicks will bully the little ones and keep them from getting to the food and water, pick on them, and generally make life miserable. You'll need to watch very carefully to be sure no one is getting picked on or trampled.

 

Temperatures are different for the two week olds vs. the 2 day olds. If there is enough room outside the 95° "heat circle" so the bigger ones can move to cooler areas, and no problem with the littles staying near the warmer spaces, then it should be fine.

 

Be sure the waterer and feeder heights suit the pee-wees since the bigger chicks will be able to reach where the tiny ones can't.

 

 

 

I have the feeling people do this all the time, it's just that we always had such big groups that it made any potential problems that much bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

Bet they're cute! :001_smile:

 

 

I have the same concerns. I currently own 10 older Rhode Island Reds and we have various ages of 16 younger birds that we raised from chicks this spring of various breeds. We have not been able to introduce them into our older flock with any success. The older birds have just not been accepting of the younger birds. I am not saying it doesn't work. It just hasn't work for us.

I have read a lot about it as well and it is pretty tricky business. I have also mixed our baby girls together. Even though they were all raised together, they have been separated for a short time and now when returned together and are now having trouble co-existing.

 

My concern for your group would be the feeder sizes and the heating sources as quoted above. I have also have the experience of one or two of the girls become "the bossy" or "queen/dominant" chicken. When this happens they will always pick on the weakest or littler chickens. Which is a concern in a bunch. The results to watch for are feather picking.

Even before that will just be flat out pecking which could result in death.

One would never believe chickens could be that aggressive but they are.

 

I hope it all works out for you and that you don't have these problems.

Best to you,

 

If they free range, I have noticed it doesn't happen as often. I hate to hear you are having "hawk" problems. Sorry to hear it. Hope you can find a way to deal with him and keep your birds safe. Once a hawk gets a "free lunch" they will continue to prey on your birds till he takes them all out. I know this from experience.