thanks to google (lol the company loves me so much they let me visit them in cambridge. Go google) i discovered a hatchery still hatching the breeds of my desire. going to order 10 chicks (3 white leghorn, 3 black australorp, 2 buff silkie, 2 red frizzle cochin) and i was wondering what is the easiest way to integrate them. I have a Lil' Brooder for the 0-2 week olds and the Big Brooder for the 2-7 week old. I dont know when the 10 chicks will arrive, assuming 1 week. I will have my big chicks collide with the little chicks (in the coop). This is sooner than I think and think that in order for them to become loving in the coop they may need to integrate in the brooder sometime. No damage done if lil' chicks go into big brooder, but i was wondering if any if you have methods for very young chicks (0-1 week) integrating with older ones (5-6 weeks). THANKS SO MUCH! just soo sad that none of my 9 lakenvelders hatched. making up for it with some chicks. this is such a helpful forum.
I wouldn't try to integrate chicks that are 5-6 weeks apart in age in the small space of a brooder. Your older ones should be able to go outside now (I usually have mine outside full-time by 4 weeks) and let the little ones have the brooder when they arrive. When the little ones are old enough to move outside, you can worry about integration then. Hopefully you have enough space that they can each have their separate area for awhile until they are close to the same size, or the smaller ones will probably be picked on by the older ones.
I completely agree with the prior post. Do NOT try to combine chicks of that age difference! Your six-week olds may seem very tiny to you, but when you get the day olds, you'll be amazed at how much they're dwarfed by the older ones. If you try to put them together, the tiny ones will react with terror and the older ones will be curious and want to "sample" the chicks with their beaks, probably resulting in injuries. Baby chicks are extremely fragile and injure easily. Last year I had two batches of chicks six weeks apart in age. When the new chicks arrive, you'll quickly see what I'm talking about. Six weeks old is old enough to go live in the coop, even if they're joining adult chickens.
