HELP - Mixing 6 week old and 4 week old chicks

[CodyChristine]

I have six 6-week old chicks and three 4-week old chicks. The older girls have moved out to the coop and are thriving. The 4 week old chicks are about half their size and doing well, too. I want to work on mixing them together so I have been bringing the younger ones out to the coop during the day in a separate section of the run separated by chicken wire. They can see each other but can't get at each other.

I've brought the big girls over to meet them and they definitely chase the little ones and will peck once or twice at them and then go back to whatever it was they were doing. The little ones are scared to death and huddle together in a corner. Should I just let them work out their pecking order all together or keep them separated still? I didn't think it would be this tough since they are only 2 weeks apart in age.

Any advice from all you experts greatly appreciated!!!

 

[mom wewantchicks!]

i have 3 hmmm, about 12 week old chicks (yes i forget!!) and 4 nine week old chicks. i did the same as you, kept them together yet seperate. well i felt bad for the little ones (about a week) of being in the little pen. so one day i just opened it up to see what would happen. there was some chasing and attempts at pecking and the little girls hid in the corner. being that i am no expert on chickens i just let them be! its been another week and they are doing fine. the bigger girls will still chase the babies if they are getting something they want, but all seems well in the hen house!

 

[can you hear me now?]

i had the same question woth my older hen with 4 plymoluth barred rocks that i introduced.I was told by Cackle Hatchery that if you introduce them during the night they are better than daytime when they are aggressive. Then you just have to let em work out their differences, which doesn't take as long as it liiks like it will.

 

[CodyChristine]

Well, I ended up keeping them separated in the run for 1 day and then put them all together the next day. The little ones still kept their distance and tried to hide from the bigger ones but I stayed out there with them for awhile and the bigger ones would get after them once in awhile but pretty much left them alone. So, I decided to move the little ones out the coop that night and they have been out there for 3 days now! I can tell they're still not used to the coop because they stay in a corner off to themselves like they're trying to find a way out but I figure they'll get tired of that soon enough. No injuries or pecking issues so overall it went well!