2 weeks and 11 weeks co- existing

[ClineFamily]

I have older chicks out in my grow out coop. However my daughter wants to keep a 2 week old chick. Once the chick doesnt need the heat source anymore I was considering putting her in a small cage in my grow out coop with older chicks.
I worry about the young chick being alone right now and I want to be sure she gets socialization. Please let me know your thoughts and pros and cons if you have done this before. Also, how long should chick be caged separately before they are able to co-exist? The older chicks are very social and nice - buff rocks and welsummer hens.
Little chick is a barnyard mix - will possibly be a roo.

 

[azygous]

A two-week old chick will be distraught with loneliness and frantic to find other chicks to bond and snuggle with. This is an extremely strong drive. It would be like taking a two-week old human baby from its mother and sticking it in a room all alone and never touching it.

It would be better to explain this to your child and wait until the time is right to get more than a single baby chick.

 

[ClineFamily]

A two-week old chick will be distraught with loneliness and frantic to find other chicks to bond and snuggle with. This is an extremely strong drive. It would be like taking a two-week old human baby from its mother and sticking it in a room all alone and never touching it.

It would be better to explain this to your child and wait until the time is right to get more than a single baby chick.

This is the reason for wanting to get the chick in with the older chicks. Again my question was about integrating the 2 ages together. I live in Florida so chicks can thrive with out a heat lamp pretty quickly as our temps dont drop low at night.
1. Will a cage for the chick for protection be enough against older chicks in the coop?
2. What is the estimated time limit of doing the cage separation until they should be ok with the chick?
Thanks in advance!

 

[azygous]

It matters the age of the older chicks. Some folks refer to three-month olds as "chicks" so the age would be good to know.

The age spread may be a problem unless the older chicks are under four weeks old. Not only that, but a single chick won't have a posse to rely on for self confidence. Don't expect the younger chick to bond with the older ones unless they are under four weeks.

The most you can hope for is that once the younger one reaches around six weeks minimum, it will be able to fend for itself. It may have a flock, but it won't have peers. Not that it isn't doable, it's just going to be lonely for the chick while it's still small and in need of other chicks to snuggle with. Some single chicks do fine. Others will cry non-stop for companions to snuggle with.