Hello all. Question on my new chicks.

[Derintrel]

Hi. My family and I decided to purchase some chicks this past Sunday at the local farm/pet store. They are going to be a week old tomorrow. We went back to the store today to purchase three more chicks that are only a day to a couple of days old.

Are there any special things I should be looking for now that I integrated them in with the older chicks? The older chicks pecked at them and seemed to harass them once I put them in. I just want to make sure that everything is ok. I understand that at first the older ones will want to let the younger ones know the pecking order, and I hope that the tiny age difference won't be a problem.

I just wanted to ask a bunch of informed people, and I figured now was as good a time as any to join the site so I have somewhere to go for any future information and people to swap stories with.

Look forward to talking to you all!

 

[momd29]

Since there isn't a great big age difference amongst the chicks you should be okay. You should just watch out for the smaller ones being trampled by the older chicks and make sure they are not pecking them so badly that they are bleeding. Other than that they should be fine.

 

[Erica]

Hi Derintrel,
Day old chicks are really very fragile, so it's perhaps not ideal to put them with week olds. Sometimes it works, but you may find you need to either take them out or divide the brooder. Sorry to be a downer.
Up to you, but I would wait until the day olds are a week old.
If you continue with it, pecking is going to be very hard on the babies, so be prepared to intervene.
Good luck, whatever you do,
Erica

 

[rosewolf22002]

I have kept my new ones apart for a week so the little ones are strong enough to get away. After that they have a few days of acting up then all is good. Hope it helps! Let us know!