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Introducing new chicks to previous chicks...

post #1 of 5
5/4/12 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 

Is there a good way to introduce my new chicks that I will be getting tomorrow morning to my almost two week old chicks? I am hoping to get about 4-6 new chicks to add to my previous 2 which will leave me with 6-8 all together. My current chicks are already growing like a week and practicing flying and roosting. I want to make sure they dont pick on the new baby's. Any advice would be wonderful :)

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post #2 of 5
5/4/12 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlechick1005 View Post

Is there a good way to introduce my new chicks that I will be getting tomorrow morning to my almost two week old chicks? I am hoping to get about 4-6 new chicks to add to my previous 2 which will leave me with 6-8 all together. My current chicks are already growing like a week and practicing flying and roosting. I want to make sure they dont pick on the new baby's. Any advice would be wonderful :)

 

I did this last week adding 6 new chicks to my 2 week olds.  The 2 week olds gave the new chicks the stink eye but that was all.  None went after the new babies and they intergrated just fine.  The only problem I heard was the older chicks are much more active a tend to "run over" (by accident) the little ones.

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post #3 of 5
5/4/12 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 

lol I was like whered my post go? I meant to put this in the chick area but somehow it ended up in feeding and watering...too funny. Thats kind of what im worried about we have a giunea pig cage right now, im wondering if I should make 2 groups or just squish them this week till I finish building my older chick brooder? I have another giunea pig cage same size if I seperate them but then again I dont want them to have a hard time integrating later on...the only other thing im curious about is the heat...if my babies are nearly 2 weeks shouldnt they be dropping temp soon? I will have to have the temp at 95 for the new babies, will this over heat my current babies?

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post #4 of 5
5/4/12 at 1:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlechick1005 View Post

lol I was like whered my post go? I meant to put this in the chick area but somehow it ended up in feeding and watering...too funny. Thats kind of what im worried about we have a giunea pig cage right now, im wondering if I should make 2 groups or just squish them this week till I finish building my older chick brooder? I have another giunea pig cage same size if I seperate them but then again I dont want them to have a hard time integrating later on...the only other thing im curious about is the heat...if my babies are nearly 2 weeks shouldnt they be dropping temp soon? I will have to have the temp at 95 for the new babies, will this over heat my current babies?

 

Your brooder should be big enough for your chicks to be able to get away from the heat if its to hot for them.  Your guinea pig cage is way to small if you a going to have to "squish" chicks together.   The older chicks don't need as much heat as the day olds so I guess two cages would be better unless you can get something big enough for both sets of chicks. 

 

You don't have anything bigger?  You could get a big box from anywhere.  What about a clothes basket or those plastic tubs for cheap at Walmart? 

 

I really don't think you will have an intergration problem for the next couple of weeks.  They are just babies now and not the big, mean, territoral chickens you will have much laterlol.png

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post #5 of 5
5/4/12 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the input :)...I just found a large rubber made tub upstairs in our attic I cleaned it out and cut a large square out of the top of it and placed and oven rack over the top to give them more room, the only issue im having now is getting the right heat with this big space...I keep changing bulbs and heights but its either going to high or too low...hmmm this could be an issue...

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