Combining 2 different groups of poults...

[ChanceRider]

I have 6 two week old poults that I hatched from eggs, and 7 two week old poults I bought locally. The ultimate goal is to combine these two groups, but for now they're housed in separate brooders. For a week now, I've been watching the 7 that I bought, looking for any signs of illness, etc. All appear healthy, eat and drink well, are feathering out nicely, and have "normal" poop. I haven't seen anything that would make me question their health.

My question is: Do you think it'd be safe (healthwise) to combine the 2 groups?

Hopefully, this weekend DH and I will complete their outdoor coop/run and I'd like to move them out of our spare bedroom. They'll be in a very secure coop, with a raised floor so they're not on the ground yet, and will have a heat/light on them at night. The coop is 8' x 8' so they'll have so much more room now that they've discovered that they can fly!

Thanks for any opinions/experience/etc., that you care to share!

 

[ChanceRider]

Hmmm, no one willing to weigh in with an opinion?

Shamelessly bumping my own thread, hoping for a response.

TIA!

 

[gypsy2621]

As long as they are the same age they should be fine together.
If you have been watching for signs of illness for a minimum of a week they should intergrate fine.
what kind of turkey are they.
the only issue I have seen with intergrating turkeys is the Midget Whites, ( rather aggressive bird) into the Slate Turkeys( mild, passive bird) The Midgets seem to over power the Slates rather easily.
others may have more information for you.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

They are only a week apart age wise, they will be fine there - they will take a little while getting used to each other and getting the pecking order down. At that age it should be no problems at all

Steve in NC

 

[ChanceRider]

Thank you both for your replies! My main concern was if I was rushing into integrating the groups and risking passing along disease.

The poults I hatched out are very friendly and somewhat assertive... Midget Whites and Bourbon Reds. The 2nd group are all MW's that didn't receive the hands-on attention so are a bit stand-offish. The brooder they'll be in is pretty large so overcrowding shouldn't be a problem. I spend quite a bit of time with them so I can keep an eye out for bullies.

Thanks again for the info!