I have two different ages of chicks, but they're only a week apart. I was keeping them in different brooders and earlier this week they all went into a corral in the coop. I tried putting a few together who hadn't been together before and the bigger ones were pecking at the eyes of the littler ones and being really mean. So, I partitioned off the corral into two sections with chicken wire so they could see each other and not fight. This was someone's idea on here and I wanted to say, altho I forgot who posted it, I really appreciate the info. It worked great!! With fingers crossed and holding my breath....I took the partition out today and they are getting along really well. There were a few moments of selecting their pecking order, but nothing brutal and nothing too harsh. The little ones stood their ground much better than I thought they would. This forum is just a big library of info on chickens and I really am happy I found it!!!
I'm glad your chicks are getting along now. Yes, there will be pecking order disputes, but that is normal. Another tip for older chickens: After they have been next to each other for awhile, if you can, move them all to a new place. That way they are all in a strange place and they are less likely to fight then also. Jean
That's great! I did the same thing yesterday, took out my partition. My older ones (3 weeks) kept flying into the youngers ones' (1 week) area and wanting to hang out, so it was time. They get along great. I have some real mother hens in my older group. They absolutely love to cuddle with the babies, lol.
