Brooding different ages together?

[Impatient]

Alright, so I had a batch of eggs with a 1/9 hatch rate. Have had the poor little chickie all alone in the brooder for the last couple weeks. Pretty much right after it hatched though I started another batch, they're due in about a week, so current chick will be 3wks by the time they hatch (6/8 alive and kicking). Should the fresh chicks and the older chick get along alright, or should I brood the new ones separately for a week or so before adding to the main brooder?

 

[lazy gardener]

As long as your brooder is big enough to meet the heat needs of the new hatchlings, while still being cool enough for the 3 week old, who should be completely off heat now, if you are brooding her in your house. When I had chicks coming out of brooder back to back, I did keep them separate for a week or so, then allowed them to integrate. A lot depends on the behavior of the 3 week old.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

As long as your brooder is big enough to meet the heat needs of the new hatchlings, while still being cool enough for the 3 week old, who should be completely off heat now, if you are brooding her in your house. When I had chicks coming out of brooder back to back, I did keep them separate for a week or so, then allowed them to integrate. A lot depends on the behavior of the 3 week old.

X2...
My most recent brood had a three week spread in ages..... using a mhp with front and back adjustable height accommodated the heat issue and monitoring fir behavior issues assured everyone was playing nicely. The youngest birds actually ran the place for the most part. I brooded in the coop so they had 32 sq ft of space with 14 birds up to the oldest reaching 8 weeks when I choose my keepers and cut the group in half

 

[Impatient]

The brooder is an old 55gal aquarium w/screen lid I had hanging around. It's 4'x1' floor space. For heat I have a reflector and red heat bulb. I hung it over one half of the brooder so half is heated and the other is room temp, figured with another batch coming so soon, why bother putting it away just to set it up again lol. The chick goes everywhere in the brooder and doesn't seem stressed. Directly under the bulb on the floor reads between 100-105F so I feel there's a good distribution of heat going on between that and room temp which sits between 72-78. I have the ceiling fan in the room turned off to avoid drafts.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

55 gallons are 4ftx 1 1/2 ft which is not enough space to allow warm and cool zones with that heat source, especially when you add additional birds and allow for the space occupied by feed and water station

 

[Impatient]

55 gallons are 4ftx 1 1/2 ft which is not enough space to allow warm and cool zones with that heat source, especially when you add additional birds and allow for the space occupied by feed and water station

I've had it set up for two weeks with thermometer in both ends and the heat gradient is working very well. When the new chicks hit around 2-3wks and are adjusted to room temp I have an empty 120gal wide that they'll be going in, it's floor space is 4'x2'. Though by that time they also be making excursions outside in a large open bottomed dog kennel and the brooder will be mostly to sleep until I get the coop built. Went a little backwards lol, but the 55gal was on hand and easy to re-purpose, I don't expect all 6 remaining eggs to hatch, though I'd be thrilled if they did. Not using the best incubator because I wanted something cheap and small because I was only going for 6 chicks in hopes of at least 2 hens for pets/backyard eggs. I sold off all my nice equipment from when I raise show RIRs because I moved across the country and from a house to apartment. Now that I own a house again I just want a couple birds for some eggs and fertilizer for my tiny garden so I didn't invest a lot

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Sidenote, correcting, a 75 gallon has the dimensions above, 55 is only 1ft wide, cutting significant floor space from the total.
The current temp directly under is high even for a new hatchling.

Tanks of any size dont alliw heat to escape well by design. Lamp heat is not desirable for such a setting, a brooder plate/heat pad, etc would be better suited as they don't work by heating athing the area

 

[Impatient]

When I say directly under I mean the 6" area of shavings directly under the bulb. After that it drops in temp 90-95F.

While I appreciate your concern, I've kept a large variety of animals from bids to exotic reptiles over the course of two decades in aquariums and know very well how their heat distribution works and how to accommodate it to suit my needs.

Again, this is a temporary brooder which will at max hold if all the eggs I have currently incubating hatch, 7 chicks, for two weeks, and then they'll be moved to something bigger. In my experience I've found chicks do best in a small brooder at first with quick access to heat and food/water for the first couple weeks. I've just never done staggered hatching/brooding and wanted to check that they should get along.

 

[lazy gardener]

OGM gives good advice. I know you are not asking for advice, but I agree with her. Too much heat, too small a space. Recipe for disaster.