Baby chicks and slightly older chicks

[Katiewshrum]

I had 6 chicks hatch on March 15th and today (April 6th) is hatch day for my latest little group. Two chicks so far and -fingers crossed- five more chicks will soon join. I am worried about the 3 week old chicks and newbies in the brooder together. The chicks in the brooder now are obviously not fully feathered out but they’re definitely bigger.

Any suggestions? Does introducing them need to be like they are going to the flock? Will the oldies hurt the newbies?
Should I keep them separate for a little while and introduce in like a week?

I also have 9 eggs due to hatch next Monday on the 12th so I’ll get to worry about this again next week.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They can be in the same brooder if it's large enough, but for safety it's best to have some sort of divider so the 2 groups can see each other but not get to each other. Once the little ones are more steady and able to hold their own (like 1 week old) you can try removing the divider and letting them mingle, and if they're behaving well with each other they can just stay together at that point.

 

[Katiewshrum]

They can be in the same brooder if it's large enough, but for safety it's best to have some sort of divider so the 2 groups can see each other but not get to each other. Once the little ones are more steady and able to hold their own (like 1 week old) you can try removing the divider and letting them mingle, and if they're behaving well with each other they can just stay together at that point.

Thanks for the advice! That is sort of what I figured but wasn't too sure. Would you think the chicks next week would be ok to group with the chicks from this week since they will be only a few days apart in age/size?

 

[sourland]

It's generally best to not integrate newly hatched chicks with older until they are fully mobile - at least a week to ten days old.