Introducing younger chicks to the older ones "PICS "

[countrygirl911]

hi everyone i have 5 chickes that are 8 weeks old and 2 that are 5 weeks old and 3 that are 6 weeks old today i put the 5 younger ones in the coop with the older ones they are in a dog kennel with their own water and feed will they be safe like that and how long do i need to wait to let them out to run with the older chickens also how can i keep my chickens cool because we have been getting 90+ degree weather here can i lightly mist them with water every so often

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Well that isn't much of an age difference, so it really shouldn't matter. as long as they are young they will not really cause a problem..it's when they are adult that they sometimes want to dominate anything coming in. I today actually, put 13 2 week olds with my 15 7 week olds and they are doing fine....No problems and it's been several hours since I did it. I too wanted to get them out of the brooder and onto the ground in a large aviary because of these hott days in Va.

 

[countrygirl911]

ty i tryed to do it last week and the one attacked the smallest pic of the mean one below

image of the two little black ones

the roo ? in the first pic attacked the little black ones the little ones are less than half the size of the bigger one but they are close in age do you have any advice to why it attacked the little one and also how long do u think i should kepp the younger ones in the dog kennel before letting them out the cig one in the pic is the only one that atacked the small ones the other 4 could of cared less

 

[countrygirl911]

hi everyone i just let the baby chicks out for 30 min with the older ones while i stood watch and then put them back in the dog kennel. There were lots of pecks and some very hard ones but not as bad as last week when i tried. and some of the older ones seem to be trying to growl at the little ones i will let them out 30 mn aday then increase it over time hopefuly in a week or two they will be able to be together all day does anyone think that this will work and hopefuly keep the pecking to a minimum or at least the really hard peck that pulls alot of feathers out