4 day old chicks and 1 day old chicks

[TrishSki]

Is is safe/okay to put 4 day old chicks and 1 day old chicks together in the same tub/light? We have 6 four day olds and another 6 on the way (1 day olds) and I want to know if I need to go out and get a separate tub and wait until they're a bit older to integrate. Thanks so much!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Yes. I've mixed them up to a couple weeks old and as long as the older ones aren't large fowl and the younger ones bantam it is fine. At four days difference it wouldn't matter either way since chicks can hatch a few days apart anyway.

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed. However, I would caution you that your tub is not going to be big enough. By the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, they should have 2 s.f. of open space per bird. Crowding can cause aggression leading up to blood shed and cannibalism. Not to mention, that if you are using a heat lamp it is very easy to overheat and kill chicks in a tote.

Please, do some reading: Mother Heating Pad, or heating pad brooding. Wool hen, huddle box. All are wonderful options. MHP is appropriate year round in both summer heat and cold winters. The latter two are great for summer brooding.

 

[TrishSki]

Agreed. However, I would caution you that your tub is not going to be big enough. By the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, they should have 2 s.f. of open space per bird. Crowding can cause aggression leading up to blood shed and cannibalism. Not to mention, that if you are using a heat lamp it is very easy to overheat and kill chicks in a tote.

Please, do some reading: Mother Heating Pad, or heating pad brooding. Wool hen, huddle box. All are wonderful options. MHP is appropriate year round in both summer heat and cold winters. The latter two are great for summer brooding.

Thanks, I will check that out! I just overnighter myself an EcoGlow Brooder and we're moving all the chicks to a bigger habitat. We had 6 of them in a rubber tub used for brooding (it was a hand me down from our parents who have raised a few flocks) with a red heat lamp but we're upgrading them this afternoon! Additional chicks haven't arrived yet!

 

[TrishSki]

Yes. I've mixed them up to a couple weeks old and as long as the older ones aren't large fowl and the younger ones bantam it is fine. At four days difference it wouldn't matter either way since chicks can hatch a few days apart anyway.

Wonderful, thanks for the response!

 

[lazy gardener]

Appliance boxes make great brooders if you are brooding indoors. Many of us now brood right in the coop.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I use a rabbit house for brooding, and with the outdoor temps this time of year I hardly have to use any supplemental heat.