Co-housing chicks a week apart

[NoSkiveez]

Ive mixed upto 3 weeks in ae difference, but the older ones have always been silkies. Occassinally there has been conflict but they usually have it sorted out within a minute or two and no one has gotten hurt. I watch them for a while to be sure I dont need to pull anyone out.

 

[Tala]

I have mixed ones that were 2 weeks apart. It was "ok" nobody was being pecked to death, but the older group excluded the younger group as a whole. I ended up putting them in a dog crate with ONE of the older chicks for 3 days, then remixing them went fine and dandy. Also be sure to provide 2 or more feeders so that the bigger ones can't hog all the food.

Right now I have some itty bitty TSC chicks in with some 3+ week olds and they took to each other like pigs to mud. This time the younger ones outnumbered the older ones AND the older ones weren't too long removed from their broodermates so maybe they were lonely for more friends.

I have 23 eggs in the 'bator hopefully I'll get a good hatch next week, so I'll be mixing them in as well. I really think it'll be just fine.

 

[Karrie13]

I currently have 4 Silkies that are 5 1/2 weeks old and a single FBCM that hatched 10 days ago together and they haven't had any problems. I wish I had my camera last night though. The four silkies were laying in a circle with the little Marans chick nestled comfortably in the center. My son called me a little while ago and said the Marans chick is sleeping peacefully under the wing of one of the white silkies while the other silkies are playing!

It can be done. Just watch them.

 

[BoerneChickens]

My late arrivals will be silkies and a Barred Rock - the first batch are EEs and a Maran - 4 in the older group and 3 in the younger group.

 

[Montana-Hens]

Good to read that this is pretty "safe" as I went to the farm supply on Monday and hour from my place, only to find out once I got there that three boxes of birds had gotten lost/did not arrive. I left with less than I wanted, but had been debating to make another road trip for a few more.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Well, the barred rocks are home and chirping about in the brooder. I ended up getting 8 of them as I was a little iffy on gender of some. Fingers crossed that I guessed right on most of them anyway.

The last candle showed 12 eggs developing in the bator. While it would be swell if all of them hatched, but I'm thinking at most I will get 8 out of that lot as well. This was a test hatch of my EE cross and my young ameraucanas. So in a week I'll have the new lot to add to the brooder. These new babies are really mellow right now. Hopefully they will stay mellow and will get along great with the new kids.

 

[felidaet]

Last year I got my chicks at various times over a 3 week period. As I got new ones I just kept adding them to the brooder. No problems. This year I am getting them from 3 or 4 different places but it looks like they will all be within a few days of each other in age.

 

[SeaHen]

I bought 9 day-old chicks and then two weeks later bought 5 more day-old chicks. I put them all together but kept a close eye for the first couple of days, and there haven't been any problems. The size difference between the two groups is huge, but they really all get along fine.

 

[Higgs2001]

This is the exact situation I am about to be in! I totally appreciate your feedback, thank you!!!! I was nervous about introducing my silkie in 2 weeks to my other hens. I have babies that are one-day-old right now, and in 2 weeks will go and get 2 silkies.