Can I put the babies together?

[sillyovrsilkies]

It's my first time with chicks...I have 2 wk. old Silkies and would like to purchase a few more. Would I be able to put them together in the brooder or would they need to be kept separate until they're older?

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

They'll probably be fine, just keep an eye on them. You might want to wait until the new ones are about a week old and have figured out eating and drinking first. I've often mixed different age chicks with no issues.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Well, by the time you order your chicks, be cautious. I tried to put 3 week olds with 1 week olds one time. Ahem. Didn't work for me!!! The 3 week olds were running around like dinosaurs and the babies were screaming ahhh ahhh!!

Maybe it depends on the breed, as the above poster had success.

Maybe have a backup plan in case? A second circle of cardboard?

 

[sillyovrsilkies]

Quote:
Once they were a couple months old did they adjust okay to one another? Yes, I can have separate brooder boxes for them, but I just wondered if I could put them together. I have 2 brooder boxes going right now b/c my littlest chick was getting picked on (I think you replied to that post last week) and I had to move her along with the next smallest baby into their own box. They're doing fine now, but are definitely the runts of the bunch!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Yes, I now have my 2 Welsummers (who were the older chicks) in with my younger ones, and everything is pretty peaceful.

 

[azygous]

Why not put the brooder boxes together with a pass-through with wire mesh to separate the two sections? For a week or two, keep the different ages separate, then after they've gotten to know one another, take down the mesh and allow them to exist together.

The problem would just be at first with the tiny ones afraid of the larger ones. If they aren't more that two or three weeks apart in age, it could work out. I had six weeks in between batches this summer, and that is just too much for it to work.

Just an idea for you to ponder.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:

Oh boy why didn't I think of that! Good job AZ!