Age Difference Between My Chicks

[sammi_lynn12]

Hi there,

I have two 4 week old chicks and four 1.5 week old chicks that are currently together in the same crate. Everyone seems to get along for the most part. (One of the older ones can be a little oblivious of the young ones and walks over top of them)

But I am noticing the older ones are beginning to keep their distance from the heat lamp but the younger ones are obviously still using it. Is it time for me to move the older ones into their own pen without a heat lamp?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum from Louisiana, glad you joined.

How big is your brooder? I use a heat lamp also but my brooder is large enough that I keep one area warm and let the rest cool off to ambient temperature. My brooder is outside so at times ambient may be below freezing. As long as one area is warm enough and an area is cool enough in the temperature swings the chicks will find the area that is comfortable for them. If you are brooding on a climate controlled area of constant temperature having a warm spot and a cool spot should be easier.

At four weeks old those two should be able to handle any temperatures you will have in Indiana this time of the year. So you can move them out if you want to. As long as you are not overheating them in the brooder you don't have to. By overheating I'm thinking over 90 F. Chickens of all ages handle that outside all the time.

You can move those two out if you wish. Why do you want to? Once they are integrated and getting along as yours are I like to leave them together. That way you don't have to reintegrate them later. We integrate like that all the time and usually it isn't a big problem but it's a step I like to avoid. I can understand you may want to get them out of your house or maybe that brooder is getting small for chicks that age. It's your personal decision. I'd need a reason to do it and I don't know what yours is.

 

[sammi_lynn12]

Welcome to the forum from Louisiana, glad you joined.

How big is your brooder? I use a heat lamp also but my brooder is large enough that I keep one area warm and let the rest cool off to ambient temperature. My brooder is outside so at times ambient may be below freezing. As long as one area is warm enough and an area is cool enough in the temperature swings the chicks will find the area that is comfortable for them. If you are brooding on a climate controlled area of constant temperature having a warm spot and a cool spot should be easier.

At four weeks old those two should be able to handle any temperatures you will have in Indiana this time of the year. So you can move them out if you want to. As long as you are not overheating them in the brooder you don't have to. By overheating I'm thinking over 90 F. Chickens of all ages handle that outside all the time.

You can move those two out if you wish. Why do you want to? Once they are integrated and getting along as yours are I like to leave them together. That way you don't have to reintegrate them later. We integrate like that all the time and usually it isn't a big problem but it's a step I like to avoid. I can understand you may want to get them out of your house or maybe that brooder is getting small for chicks that age. It's your personal decision. I'd need a reason to do it and I don't know what yours is.

Their brooder is in our garage which is insulated and hasn't gotten below 75 degrees. On warm days the garage itself is in the 80's. I have the lamp in one corner of the brooder so they have a cooler side but with the garage being 75-80 plus at times I didn't know if they were getting too warm. They lay on the cool side and don't seem upset or anything like that, I just noticed they lay on the cool side a majority of the time. I also didn't know if them being older than the rest is an issue in itself or if it is fine to leave them together with the age gap!