A few questions about combining new/old chicks and diff breeds

[dancingchicken77]

i am a bit of a newbie. i have two 4-week-old chicks, and am incubating 3 more eggs which are due to hatch in one week. the breed is pekins, which i think in the us you call them cochins? (i'm in australia)

i have a few questions to ask you guys if you can help me please -

(1) when the new chick/s hatch, should i add them right away to the box (with lamp) i am keeping the 4-week-old chicks in? can they be together right away, safely? i've heard chickens can be resistent to newcomers. i was thinking of kepeing them separate anyway, as in a few more weeks i thought i'd put the older chicks in a coop outside

(2) i am thinking of hatching some silkies next. if i do that, the other chicks will be roughly 8-9 weeks and 3-4 weeks old. i understand pekins are a docile breed, but will they happily accept some new silkies into their group? is it ok if it is just one silkie?

thanks so much in advance if you can help me

 

[lovemychix]

I would keep them seperated until they get closer in size. A chick 4 weeks could hurt a newbie and the babies need to be warmer. 95-90 degree F for the first week. Your 4 week babies don't need to be that warm. I'd say once they are older you can put them together. They sould be fine.

 

[hinkjc]

Duplicate post https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=103731