Getting baby pullets two separate dates.

[Ragfrey]

Louisiana.
New baby pullets from hatchery.

These are the chosen warriors:
Black Copper Maran
Welsummer
Buckeye
Spec Sussex
Blue laced Wyandotte
Golden laced Wyandotte
Silver laced Wyandotte
Starlight green Egger
Blue Andalusian
Easter Egger
Prairie blue Egger

Okay…
So I am getting 6 this Thursday and then the other 5 on Aug 2nd.

40”x30” brooder with 1/2 hardwarecloth for predator proof. Brooder will be on back porch. I am using a XL Sunbeam heating pad for heat- with the ability to turn off the 2hr auto off. Using doggie pads on the bottom.

There is a 3 week difference of time of arrival of the first batch and the second. I will have 6 already here for 3 weeks.

My question is:
So when I get the second batch of 5, do I put them in the same brooder with the 3 weekers? Will the 3 weekers already established a pecking order and bully the new 5 recruits?

 

[Saveria]

I think you will want to put a divider between them. I'm not sure about bullying, but I think either way the bigger ones will trample the little ones.

Are you keeping that brooder inside? If it is outside, even in an outbuilding, predators could knock off the hardware cloth or break right through the box. It will also get cramped pretty quickly with 11 birds, they grow so quickly. Just want to make sure you know what to expect.

 

[Folly's place]

Three weeks is a huge age and size difference, you will need two brooders. And I don't see how that heating pad will work for them; are you making a chick brooder using it? Just having them on it isn't enough, unless your ambient temps are 90F all night too.
We had two brooders going in our garage this spring, first for April 12th babies, who moved to the coop when the May 15th chicks arrived. Then, the second brooder for chicks hatched May 24th. Only nine days apart, but too different to combine them until they moved to the coop, separated from the April chicks and the adults.
Mary

 

[Saveria]

Brooder will be on back porch

Sorry, re-read and saw this. Predators can break into that really easily. It would be a big risk.

 

[Folly's place]

And yes, a cardboard box works fine, but only indoors away from predators!
Mary

 

[Ragfrey]

Sorry, re-read and saw this. Predators can break into that really easily. It would be a big risk.

@Folly's place

The cardboard brooder is encased with 1/2” hardware cloth. You think predators can break through the 1/2” hardware cloth?

 

[Ragfrey]

And I don't see how that heating pad will work for them; are you making a chick brooder using it?

I plan on making a mama’s heating pad cave- kinda like a heating plate.

 

[Ragfrey]

Our temperatures are high 98 days and night lows of 80dg. Plan to keep the brooder outside with the heating pad cave continuously on.

So you think I will need to put the second batch in a separate brooder?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I agree with the others that you need to keep the 2 sets of chicks separated in the beginning to keep the younger chicks from being trampled. By the time the younger chicks turn 2 weeks old they will be much more nimble, and you May be able to combine them with the five-week-old chicks, as long as their brooder/coop has plenty of room. I think they will be fine with only the heating pad cave. By the time each set of chicks are two weeks old, they will probably not need any supplemental heat at all in your summer heat.

Even with the hardware cloth, a raccoon and other larger predators could easily crush and bend the hardware cloth against the cardboard box while attempting to get at the chicks. Even if didn't eat them, it could still crush them in the attempt. Is there no way you can brood them inside your house for a couple of weeks until they are feathered enough to live outside in a regular coop? And BTW, I love your selection of breeds!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The cardboard brooder is encased with 1/2” hardware cloth. You think predators can break through the 1/2” hardware cloth?

In this case, yes, because it's not the wire that's the issue, but the fact that the structure under it is too flimsy to provide the proper support. In short, a large predator could simply crush the entire thing. A smaller one might be able to tear at it enough to make an opening.