adding new chicks?

[domromer]

My local feed store has some new buff Orphington chicks. I'd like to get three. My current chicks are 6 weeks old now. How old will the new chicks need to be before I can mix them with the 6 weeks old?

Also my current chicks are barred rocks and speckled sussex. Do buffs have similar temperments as the others?

 

[domromer]

don't all answer at once.


anyone..anyone..buller?

 

[CoyoteMagic]

The key I think from reading what others have posted is slow and gradual introduction.

You new ones are going to be in a brooder for awhile yet, right?

By the time they are big enough to be out of the booder, the 6week olds will be anywhere from 9-12 weeks old. HUGE compared to the new ones.

When the new ones are ready to come out of the brooder, you will need to set up a place for them in the coop where they can be with biggerones but out of reach of them. Say in a small wire pen. After about a week, open the door of the little pen and let the little ones out BUT leave the little pen in place so they can escape from the bigger one if need be.

Hey I'm new to chickens but I've learned all of this from reading posts here.

 

[Country Gal]

Just a heads up on my Buff Orpington experience...

I purchased 27 chicks from MM - 9 SLW, 9 BO, 9 LB. They were all raised together.

Apparently, the orpingtons are SO docile, that no matter what they will end up at the bottom of the pecking order. I came home from work one day and 7 of the 9 were all pecked and had their tail feathers ripped out...

I ended up separating them and applying Blue Lotion, then reintegrating a few days later. I haven't noticed any problems since, but definitely something to keep in mind...

 

[Cheri]

wow I got real lucky. None of mine got hurt. I had 8 week, 6 week and 2 weeks old combined. Just pecking no hurting. I have 1 leghorn Roo, 1 RIR Roo, 1 Roo (have no clue) and 10 RIR pullet mixed ages, 5 ancona's (2mnths) and 12 domineckers (6 wks.)

 

[Jimagination]

When my youngest were 2--3 weeks old, my husband built a shelf in my coop which he then put a temporary chicken wire side to with a cut out section in it that I could fold open or close to get in and out. We put the babies in there. That way my younger ones were being seen all the time by my chicks that are 5 weeks older. At about 5 weeks old we took the chicken wire off and left the shelf. which is a nice addition to the coop. They like to site up there mostly. My chicks still seem to be in two flocks, but they are not killing eachother. Before we had done this I had had all of them out free ranging with supervision and my older ones started to dive at the younger ones from aross the yard, so we kept them seperated at that point.
Good luck

 

[domromer]

At what age does the chicken growth slow down and I can put them together? Are 9weeks old chicks the same size as say 16 week old chicks?

 

[Jimagination]

Mine are 13 weeks and 8 weeks and they still are not the same size. But when teh younger ones were 5 -6 weeks, they were big enough to handle themselves.

 

[poultrypal]

We had chicks about the same age apart and we kept them separate until the younger chicks were ready to go outside . When we did, we left the younger ones in a large cage in our chicken pen for a few days so everyone could get aquainted. After that we let them all out together and they worked everthing out very quickly.