Chicks 3 weeks apart

[knobhillfarm]

So I started with 4 chicks from TSC that were advertised as golden comet pullets but I found out later there were actually olive egggers. Presumably, some may also be cockerels since they were clearly mislabeled and I really want 4-6 pullets this year to start my flock so I decided to add 2 barred rock pullets from my local feed store. I was hesitant to mix the two since there is 3-4 weeks of difference in age and the size disparity is great. I put the 2 new chicks into a cardboard enclosure with the brooding heater and left the 4 larger chicks in my homemade brooding box in the garage with a space heater to keep the temp around 75 degrees overnight. I went out to check on them and the new chicks somehow jumped 2 feet over the edge of the box and squeezed though the chicken wire of the brooder box to be with the older chicks. They seemed a bit chilled so I moved them back to the cardboard box with the brooding heater and added a lid. Since they want to be with the older chicks, should I put them back in the larger box together and move the heater back there? Or are they better off apart? The older chicks are quickly outgrowing the brooding box and spent the day outside today in their coop. It was around 80 degrees and sunny all day. They have a lot of feathers and are getting close to moving outside for good when nighttime temps get a bit higher. It has been 50s at night here at night lately.

 

[azygous]

The tiny tots are giving you a clue to easy integration. Heat is not a major issue considering the 80 degree temp. New chicks will lose body heat at such a slow rate at 80 F they may not even need heat during the day. At night, they will arrange themselves nearer the heat or farther away according to their needs. The only consideration is having plenty of space for them to be able to adjust their distance from the heat.

I've been faced with this sort of situation a couple times over the years. Many years ago, when using a conventional brooder setup, I stuck two large appliance boxes together and partitioned it with smalls on one side and bigs on the other with two different degrees of heat. Those chicks were six weeks apart in age and couldn't be put together, though I did try. The size diff was too pronounced.

Most recently, brooding outside in my secure enclosed run, I set up the two different aged groups, about three weeks apart, together in a brooder pen with two different heating pad frames set at different heat settings. Like your experience with the smalls breaking out of their brooder and into the older chicks' brooder, my older chicks saw the new chicks and abandoned thei heat cave and moved themselves right into the new chicks' cave. All were pals right from the start in spite of the size difference.

As long as your big chicks are not abusing the new chicks, let them all remain together.

 

[knobhillfarm]

The tiny tots are giving you a clue to easy integration. Heat is not a major issue considering the 80 degree temp. New chicks will lose body heat at such a slow rate at 80 F they may not even need heat during the day. At night, they will arrange themselves nearer the heat or farther away according to their needs. The only consideration is having plenty of space for them to be able to adjust their distance from the heat.

I've been faced with this sort of situation a couple times over the years. Many years ago, when using a conventional brooder setup, I stuck two large appliance boxes together and partitioned it with smalls on one side and bigs on the other with two different degrees of heat. Those chicks were six weeks apart in age and couldn't be put together, though I did try. The size diff was too pronounced.

Most recently, brooding outside in my secure enclosed run, I set up the two different aged groups, about three weeks apart, together in a brooder pen with two different heating pad frames set at different heat settings. Like your experience with the smalls breaking out of their brooder and into the older chicks' brooder, my older chicks saw the new chicks and abandoned thei heat cave and moved themselves right into the new chicks' cave. All were pals right from the start in spite of the size difference.

As long as your big chicks are not abusing the new chicks, let them all remain together.

Thanks for the advice!