Crazy idea, should I go for it?

[hallerlake]

What if the new chicks had some disease or parasite, and gave it to your other chicks?




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[pixy]

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hm. thats a scary idea, since I will have the silkies a week before the others arrive so i can keep track of thier health before and maybe give the babies a week in thier own brooder before putting them together. Each set would have a 1 week quarantine. But then i'd be putting together 1 week olds with 2 or 3 week olds, which didn't work well for Chickensaresweet. maybe i'll have to set up a socialization barrier so they can be neighbors for a day before they move in together. I have the materials to set up two brooders in my chicken room, and it would be safer to do that.

 

[carrlr]

IMO..go for it. I generally advise 30-day quarantine for older chicks, but given the fact both groups are babies, you should be fine. Have fun!!!

 

[gryeyes]

Integrating chicks is much easier than integrating older chickens, even the "teen-aged" ones. And, generally, chicks don't present the health issues of older birds. They haven't had time to develop immunities to to something at their "home" locations and bring in that something your first batch of chicks haven't yet encountered.

Although it IS one reason why young chicks not hatched by your own hens should not be integrated with older birds until they are past the first 12 - 16 weeks. They're pretty vulnerable up until then.

I'd go for it. I HAVE added chicks at 1, 2 and even 3 week age differences. (Right now I have two separate brooders because the older chicks are standard breeds and the newest chicks are bantams and still less than 5 days old, so they're still little, itsy bitsy things about the size of large cotton balls. The older chicks would bowl them over too easily right now.

 

[pixy]

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I'd be going the otherway, my older chicks are smaller breeds and the younger ones will be heavies, so that should work nicely. OK, i'm going for it.

YAY.