Introducing New Baby Chicks to Others

[sealskin]

I'm aware that, when introducing a new hen/rooster to a flock, you need to keep them separated for a bit using the "look but don't touch" method.

My question is this - do you need to do the same thing for chicks that are, say, younger than 2 or so weeks? Or can you combine two batches of young chicks without worry of bullying and teaming up?

I will be sourcing my baby chicks from two different breeders in the spring. Chances are they will be within a couple weeks of the same hatch date.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm aware that, when introducing a new hen/rooster to a flock, you need to keep them separated for a bit using the "look but don't touch" method.

My question is this - do you need to do the same thing for chicks that are, say, younger than 2 or so weeks? Or can you combine two batches of young chicks without worry of bullying and teaming up?

I will be sourcing my baby chicks from two different breeders in the spring. Chances are they will be within a couple weeks of the same hatch date.

If they are within 2.5-3 weeks of age, they can be brooded together but the very small chicks will need a few days to recover from shipping stress and gain strength before being put in with the older chicks. You will need a very large brooder.

 

[sealskin]

Does it make a difference if I'm picking up the baby chicks locally versus shipping?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Does it make a difference if I'm picking up the baby chicks locally versus shipping?

Not really. Shipping is harder on them but very young chicks still need a couple days to get their legs under them, even if you hatch yourself or pick them up locally.