Chicken math struck me, so I had 6 hens, who are currently 6 weeks old now, and got 4 more. One of the 4 is 1 week older than the others, but I got all 4 a week ago. So they are 2 week and 1 week olds.
I am expecting to set these new ones out at 3 or 4 weeks old when they have enough feathers.
So I initially put the first 6 into the outside coop and run at 4 weeks old. They were there for like 5 days before I got the 4 new chicks. Figuring that I would have integration issues, I created a brooder with a wire mesh separating two sections. One section I put the new chicks in, and the other larger section I put back the original 6 chicks. They were together for a week and then I put the older six back outside. Now the 4 new chicks are in their own small brooder.
So by the time these 4 chicks are big enough to go to the outside coop, they will be about 4 weeks old, and the older chicks about 8 weeks old.
Do you see integration problems with that? Would the bigger chicks be so big and mean to the smaller chicks to cause harm?
I can separate the nesting box area in the coop with a wire mesh for the smaller chicks if necessary, just don't really want to...
Or do you all think another approach is better?
I am expecting to set these new ones out at 3 or 4 weeks old when they have enough feathers.
So I initially put the first 6 into the outside coop and run at 4 weeks old. They were there for like 5 days before I got the 4 new chicks. Figuring that I would have integration issues, I created a brooder with a wire mesh separating two sections. One section I put the new chicks in, and the other larger section I put back the original 6 chicks. They were together for a week and then I put the older six back outside. Now the 4 new chicks are in their own small brooder.
So by the time these 4 chicks are big enough to go to the outside coop, they will be about 4 weeks old, and the older chicks about 8 weeks old.
Do you see integration problems with that? Would the bigger chicks be so big and mean to the smaller chicks to cause harm?
I can separate the nesting box area in the coop with a wire mesh for the smaller chicks if necessary, just don't really want to...
Or do you all think another approach is better?
