Integrating Chicks

[GrandmaKatnip]

Yesterday I got 26 chicks in the mail. So far 8 have died and 2 more look like they are in trouble. Welp is sending me more next week, so I am wondering if I can put them in the same brooder? Should I put a divider in the brooder? How will I be able to integrate them as one flock? This is just my second time around, so there is alot I still don't know. Thank you for your help.

 

[DobieLover]

Yesterday I got 26 chicks in the mail. So far 8 have died and 2 more look like they are in trouble. Welp is sending me more next week, so I am wondering if I can put them in the same brooder? Should I put a divider in the brooder? How will I be able to integrate them as one flock? This is just my second time around, so there is alot I still don't know. Thank you for your help.

It sounds like the age difference will be one week. Correct? If that is the case, just put the new ones in with your current batch and they should be fine.
What are you feeding them? What is the temperature in the warm part of the brooder? What is the temperature in the cool part? How large is it? Did you give them electrolytes in their water to help them recover from the shipping stress? Have you checked all for pasty butt 2 or 3 times a day? Have you made certain all of them are actually eating and drinking? 8-10 losses in a batch of 26 is a high mortality rate.

 

[GrandmaKatnip]

It sounds like the age difference will be one week. Correct? If that is the case, just put the new ones in with your current batch and they should be fine.
What are you feeding them? What is the temperature in the warm part of the brooder? What is the temperature in the cool part? How large is it? Did you give them electrolytes in their water to help them recover from the shipping stress? Have you checked all for pasty butt 2 or 3 times a day? Have you made certain all of them are actually eating and drinking? 8-10 losses in a batch of 26 is a high mortality rate.

Thanks for replying. The chicks that have survived look very healthy. (unlike the 10 that we lost. They looked tough from the start). The temp is 95 under the lights, and I am giving them eletrolytes in their water. They have plenty of room in their 4'x4' brooder. I will get 15 replacements on Tuesday, so they will be just 1 week apart in age. My plan is to put a divider in the brooder for a few days, and then introduce them to each other. I hope that is ok? Our last chicks came to us in 2016 and every one of them survived. When I contacted the company this week, they said that the girls I got on Wednesday had started in Pennsylvania. That is two full days in a box in the mail. Seems like a long time to me, but my experience is pretty limited. Thanks for your input.

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks for replying. The chicks that have survived look very healthy. (unlike the 10 that we lost. They looked tough from the start). The temp is 95 under the lights, and I am giving them eletrolytes in their water. They have plenty of room in their 4'x4' brooder. I will get 15 replacements on Tuesday, so they will be just 1 week apart in age. My plan is to put a divider in the brooder for a few days, and then introduce them to each other. I hope that is ok? Our last chicks came to us in 2016 and every one of them survived. When I contacted the company this week, they said that the girls I got on Wednesday had started in Pennsylvania. That is two full days in a box in the mail. Seems like a long time to me, but my experience is pretty limited. Thanks for your input.

I would not bother with a divider. Just putting the new chicks in with the original ones will be fine. I did that when my 3 replacements arrived and the others treated them like they'd been there all along.
That 4x4 brooder is going to get small fast with 26 chicks. Do you have plans for something larger as they grow?
IMO, chicks that are lost within one week of age are weak chicks from the hatchery. My first batch was shipped the last week in April 2018 on a Monday afternoon and arrived Thursday morning. Not one loss.
My second batch was shipped the third week in April 2019 and arrived Wednesday afternoon. I lost three of them. The 3 replacements were shipped Express and arrived in less than 24 hours. I still lost one of them. Ironically, I lost one of the same breed in the original and replacement shipments. I think there is something wrong with that breed at the hatchery and will not purchase them again.

 

[Sherloki]

Thanks for replying. The chicks that have survived look very healthy. (unlike the 10 that we lost. They looked tough from the start). The temp is 95 under the lights, and I am giving them eletrolytes in their water. They have plenty of room in their 4'x4' brooder. I will get 15 replacements on Tuesday, so they will be just 1 week apart in age. My plan is to put a divider in the brooder for a few days, and then introduce them to each other. I hope that is ok? Our last chicks came to us in 2016 and every one of them survived. When I contacted the company this week, they said that the girls I got on Wednesday had started in Pennsylvania. That is two full days in a box in the mail. Seems like a long time to me, but my experience is pretty limited. Thanks for your input.

No need for a divider, until 3 weeks or a bit older they don't care too much about new members of the flock. You'll probably even see the new little ones run up and peck at their larger flock members. My 21 have about a 3 week age range and they've all been fine together.

 

[GrandmaKatnip]

That would simplify my life tremendously if I don't need to keep them divided.

 

[danceswithronin]

You can put them in together, I raised chicks this year together that were two weeks apart and they were fine, no aggression issues at all. (I do have really docile breeds though.) I bought two three week-old chicks locally to replace a hen a lost to my dogs and added them in with my four week-old chicks from the hatchery.

 

[GrandmaKatnip]

Thank you for all of the help, everyone! Our replacement chicks arrived on Tuesday. We did put a divider into the brooder for just the first day. When I removed it they all introduced themselves and proceeded to have a great party. Everyone looks happy and healthy. In hindsight, I don't think I needed the divider at all. Just gave me peace of mind, considering how unhealthy the flock was last week. thanks again!