Brooder - mixing ages

[tsperry88]

I know this topic has been discussed. I have 1 week old and 3 week old chicks. They have been in the same brooder separated with hardware cloth since I received them. I can place one or 2 big chicks with the smaller chicks and the big chicks just start eating the little chicks food. My concern is getting trampled. I watched a big chick jump from about 6" high and land on a little one. The little one laid looking dead for about 5 seconds before running off and eating like nothing happened. Having never seen different ages interact, should I mix and allow the occasional trampling to happen?

 

[tsperry88]

I think I'll wait another week. They seem less fragile at 2 weeks