Indroducing chicks to older chicks HELP new to chickens!!! Plz!!!

TamraBrice

In the Brooder
5 Years
Mar 23, 2014
11
0
22
Can anyone please give me any advice or info on introducing my 11 2 week old chicks to my 5 5week old chicks?? Should I wait longer?? Currently they are all housed in a large 6x6 brooding box with the 2 week old chicks in a box inside the brooder. My larger chicks perch and roost on the little chick box and don't bother them at all but when I experimented the other day and cut a small door in their box and gently nudged them outside the no they all became frightened and squished themselves in the corner I gave them some time and watched or 15 mins but I finally put them back in the box and they continued to huddle in the corner In there own box tell I shut their door and now they are wanting to fly out of the box and roost but if one accidentally falls the big chicks pester them and sorta peck not horridly aggressive tell it's in the corner and they make it stay there tell I can come get it... Should I wait longer or can I start introducing them??? Any help or tips would be amazing PLEASE HELP!!! I can only build one coop and run in my space and not to be offensive but we will be eating any roosters when matured

Here is a pix of the brooder before my smaller chicks were purchased and the smaller box was placed I can post more pix if that helps
400
 
hi there, I am raising chicks with a 3 week age difference together. they were introduced at 1 week and 4 weeks old. there are only two 4wk olds and there are 14 smaller 1wk olds, I think the numbers in favor of the small chicks is helpful.

At first there was a little bit of pecking, hey, who are you, that's my food, etc -- but in very short order, maybe 3 days, everyone was calm and happy again. The chicks are now 7 and 10 wks old, and the littler ones think the bigger ones are their parents, it's quite adorable. they follow everything the bigger chicks do, listen to their warnings, even try to sleep under them lol.

so my advice is, go ahead and combine them. I would be comfortable adding chicks with up to 4wk age difference. the fact that yours are 2wk and 5wk is good, 2wk is big enough not to get hurt badly or trampled. I would add the big ones to the little one's territory. there will be some posturing, some pecking and jostling, but as long as the violence isn't SEVERE just let them figure it out. if there is blood, then you need to intervene asap.

also, make sure that you offer plenty of places to get away. they need objects or boxes to get behind so they can hide, or things to jump on to get up high, the roost you made sounds great. you might add extra hiding places for the transition, then reduce it to only 1 when they're friends. my big chickens love to go in the bushes, if you can create a covered bush like area, that's where they will feel the most safe and secure. they feel very exposed vulnerable and insecure with a big open ceiling and giants walking around ;)
 
hi there, I am raising chicks with a 3 week age difference together. they were introduced at 1 week and 4 weeks old. there are only two 4wk olds and there are 14 smaller 1wk olds, I think the numbers in favor of the small chicks is helpful.

At first there was a little bit of pecking, hey, who are you, that's my food, etc -- but in very short order, maybe 3 days, everyone was calm and happy again. The chicks are now 7 and 10 wks old, and the littler ones think the bigger ones are their parents, it's quite adorable. they follow everything the bigger chicks do, listen to their warnings, even try to sleep under them lol.

so my advice is, go ahead and combine them. I would be comfortable adding chicks with up to 4wk age difference. the fact that yours are 2wk and 5wk is good, 2wk is big enough not to get hurt badly or trampled. I would add the big ones to the little one's territory. there will be some posturing, some pecking and jostling, but as long as the violence isn't SEVERE just let them figure it out. if there is blood, then you need to intervene asap.

also, make sure that you offer plenty of places to get away. they need objects or boxes to get behind so they can hide, or things to jump on to get up high, the roost you made sounds great. you might add extra hiding places for the transition, then reduce it to only 1 when they're friends. my big chickens love to go in the bushes, if you can create a covered bush like area, that's where they will feel the most safe and secure. they feel very exposed vulnerable and insecure with a big open ceiling and giants walking around ;)

Thank you so much!!! I'll have to try it out :) I hope it all works I have three copper marans in my 11 2 week olds that were not cheap and are very very pretty so hoping nothing happens to them expesecially lol I would not be happy and I am sure once our barred rock roosters are fryer size things will really settle down the two of them wreck havoc on the peace and they are already showing aggression even though they were all hand raised and all come running when they see me to get a treat and eat out of my hands
 
I take it the 11 week Old's are out side by this time this I ask as it is warm enough here for me to put mu chicks out side in the day at 3 weeks ..




This is the cage I start putting 3 week olds in to go outside
and slowly introduce slowly into the flock ...
 
different species show different levels of aggression. you should watch them closely. and the more room the better. yes, a lot of the initial interest dies away, but if the young ones aren't healthy and agile, they could find the going rough. I think you would be better off if you had a divider that they could see through. this way see each other for awhile would take the edge off the newness.
 
Thank you guys so much all te info was very helpful!!! I introduced my younger chicks to my older chicks today all was good tell I came back in tonight to recheck and put them all to bed and all was great then one of my barred rock hens and rooster chicks came over and plucked a feather out of my amerucanas and made it bleed then wouldn't leave it alone so I put them up for the night back in there own box any suggestions?? Should I let them all back out tomorrow and keep checking in or try to figure something else out with the introducing??
 
Thank you guys so much all te info was very helpful!!! I introduced my younger chicks to my older chicks today all was good tell I came back in tonight to recheck and put them all to bed and all was great then one of my barred rock hens and rooster chicks came over and plucked a feather out of my amerucanas and made it bleed then wouldn't leave it alone so I put them up for the night back in there own box any suggestions?? Should I let them all back out tomorrow and keep checking in or try to figure something else out with the introducing??



I would only let them be together in the day time as sleeping
together takes a bit longer .....
 

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