Chick availability during the week..and brooder questions

[vantain]

Local Tractor Supply gets chicks in on Tuesday-Friday mornings. They don't know what kinds will be available on each day, so it's basically just go in and see what they get.

I'm wanting to get a few different kinds this time around. Can I just get a few each day, depending on what is available, and just add them to the brooder with any others during the course of the week? Any issues with that, other than having to get the new ones acclimated to the others and the brooder? Looking to get 8 chicks this time, and hopefully all pullets.

Also, I want to brood them in the coop with the remaining two hens from my previous flock. I currently have two left from the first flock. They are two years old. I have already partitioned off half the coop to use for the brooder area, and I will still further confine that area and just expand it a bit as these chicks grow. For heat, I plan to use a Sweeter Heater and just keep it about 4-5 inches above the pine shavings...no other heat source. Will this work ok? Sounds like others do this. My other two hens will be able to see the chicks, but won't be able to get into their space. I was also not planning on having any additional light in the coop for them, just the normal light from daylight. Coop is completely draft free, and the weather here in Minnesota is supposed to be pretty good for the coming week, so I think night time temps should be back above 25-30. The sweeter heater should do fine.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[AgnesGray]

I've done this with chicks up to about a week's difference in age. Beyond that, I worry that the little ones will be bullied, but I may be wrong. My tsc will not sell less than 6, so you may want to run your idea past them and see if they will be ok with it.

I brooded the latest group out in the coop in a safe area under the roost bars, separated by hardware cloth so they could see, but not touch for a few weeks and it went great. This article helped a TON. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/ My group is now 6 weeks old and pretty well integrated into the flock. Only downside I found was that they're a little less attached to me, but it's probably best for some reasons.