Different age chicks meshing?

[Traffie Chickens]

Hey! So I have 3 week old chicks, 2 pullets and 2 cockerels. I was wanting more pullets, but I can’t find any chicks at this very moment. So I was wondering, how old is too old to add new baby chicks in with these 4?

 

[ValkerieGunn]

I only allow 2 weeks age difference between them in my brooder. After that the older ones are much bigger and can easily injure a smaller chick be it accidentally or on purpose.

 

[Yardmom]

You need to plan to brood separately, but depending on your coop set up it may be possible to take the older chicks out soon.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I had a 2-week-old chick kill its hatchmate. No difference in ages. There are stories on here where people were successful adding chicks with a pretty large age difference. I remember one where an older chick (maybe a month old or older) started mothering the baby chicks. There are other stories where the older ones attacked and killed the younger. You do not get guarantees with this kind of stuff.

I agree with Yardmom. You should plan on brooding them separately and integrating them later. That gives you the greatest chance of success. You can try adding them if you wish, but closely observe and have a Plan B ready in case it is instantly needed.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

Thanks! One reason why I want more than just the 4 is because we aren’t keeping any boys. (we think) and I’ve had trouble integrating just 2 birds in with my older hens before. So I was wanting there to be more than just 2 chicks this time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve had trouble integrating just 2 birds in with my older hens before. So I was wanting there to be more than just 2 chicks this time.

Can we discuss your integrating methods? How many older hens, how much room in the coop and run, and what methods did you use to try to integrate. Any extra coops and runs?

Until my pullets start laying they form a separate flock. They avoid the adults. If they invade the hens' private space they are likely to get pecked so they are frightened of the adults and stay away. I have enough room in my run that they can keep a distance. At night, they do not sleep on the roosts with the adults but find other places to sleep. The coop is big enough that they can stay away.

Integrating one chick by itself can be hard. They are social animals and want to be with other chicks. But if you have two, they have a buddy so they are much more likely to try to avoid the adults. The reason we suggest three or more is not because two is not enough, but if you have two and one dies then it doesn't have a buddy. Three chicks solve that problem.

I'm guessing that your problems were not because you had two chicks but because of space or the integration methods you used. If we know what you are working with we may be able to offer suggestions as to how to make it easier for you.

To me, a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. All that eating together and sleeping together can come later after the young ones mature.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

Can we discuss your integrating methods? How many older hens, how much room in the coop and run, and what methods did you use to try to integrate. Any extra coops and runs?

Until my pullets start laying they form a separate flock. They avoid the adults. If they invade the hens' private space they are likely to get pecked so they are frightened of the adults and stay away. I have enough room in my run that they can keep a distance. At night, they do not sleep on the roosts with the adults but find other places to sleep. The coop is big enough that they can stay away.

Integrating one chick by itself can be hard. They are social animals and want to be with other chicks. But if you have two, they have a buddy so they are much more likely to try to avoid the adults. The reason we suggest three or more is not because two is not enough, but if you have two and one dies then it doesn't have a buddy. Three chicks solve that problem.

I'm guessing that your problems were not because you had two chicks but because of space or the integration methods you used. If we know what you are working with we may be able to offer suggestions as to how to make it easier for you.

To me, a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. All that eating together and sleeping together can come later after the young ones mature.

Sure! We have 6 hens that are 2 years old, and one hen that is 1 year old.

For my method. I put a separate coop/cage in the chicken run, so that they can see but not touch each other. I let them be in that for a couple weeks or so. After, I start to let them out with the older hens.

I have a 9x16 run with an attached coop and I try to let them free range as much as I can. One of the reasons it was hard to integrate is because my 2 leghorn hens are just very aggressive, and I don’t think it’s because of space, because even when they are free ranging, they will still chase after the youngsters.
I tried caging them for a couple days but they didn’t change. But after months they finally partially excepted them. A year later those 2 still won’t let the young ones eat or sleep with them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for that. It sounds like you are doing everything right but just have a couple of hens that won't cooperate. Each chicken has its own personality. I've had a few adults were harder than they had to be but never had any that bad. I think your problem was their personality, not the number of chicks. I wish you luck, they may be challenging again.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

Thanks for that. It sounds like you are doing everything right but just have a couple of hens that won't cooperate. Each chicken has its own personality. I've had a few adults were harder than they had to be but never had any that bad. I think your problem was their personality, not the number of chicks. I wish you luck, they may be challenging again.

Of course, thank you! You have helped me a bunch! I’m curious to see if they will be a little more cooperative this time since they have already excepted new chicks once, but I guess we’ll see.