Keeping Chicks 2 weeks apart in same brooder?

[mjhunter84]

I was given 6 Barnyard Mix chicks. They are about 1 1/2-2 weeks old. I live in the city and so I am not allowed to have roosters. I would be very surprised if all 6 ended up being hens. I am thinking of going and getting 2-4 more from my local store. Would it be okay to keep them all together?

 

[Clucksworth]

How old will the new chicks be?

 

[mjhunter84]

Only a day or two.

 

[Clucksworth]

Personally I wouldn't keep 2 week old chicks with day old ones, the older chicks will probably trample over the younger chicks and may bully them as they would be so little.
I would be especially wary of putting young chicks with a larger number of older chicks, as this will probably result in bullying

 

[mjhunter84]

Okay thanks. That is what I was thinking but I wanted to make sure.

 

[countrygirl74]

I disagree simply because I have done it without any issues at all. I have 13 chicks in my brooder (all together) and they now range from 3 weeks to 6 weeks. We have the different age range because we were waiting for different breeds to come in here and there. I just added them in and they all seemed to do fine. Now, I will say that when I added my last chick who was a day old, I put him in a separate box for about a week with the next youngest ones, not the very oldest ones because it was only one little EE and I didn't want her to get hurt. That said, she was still put in with 2-3 week olds. Within a week I put them all together and they have done just fine. In fact, one of my 6-week-olds seems to mother the little EE and the EE snuggles under her.

Edited to add: If you see any bullying or too much picking on, put your new ones with some of your nicest older ones for a bit until they can take care of themselves. As Clucksworth said, there CAN be some picking but I think they are still young enough that you won't have a problem. I would expect to see it more with trying to add a day-old with 4-6 week old chicks.

 

[debid]

I've mixed with a three-week difference within incident. Yes, the little ones might get stepped on here and there but really, there isn't enough weight on a two-week chick to cause damage. They're surprisingly durable.

 

[clickclackmoo]

I need advice on brooding different ages together:

I have two sets of chicks -- 10 four-week-olds and 11 two-week-olds. They are separate but can hear each other, and I'd like to take out the divider so they can all be together. I tried this for a few hours with close supervision, and the smaller ones seemed really insecure and huddled together mostly, only venturing apart when the bigger ones were calmed down more. There was some pecking from 1 larger Barred Rock -- and she's always been really curious so I can't tell how she meant it, but it did look a little aggressive. She's the top lady at this point.

Is it normal for the little ones to be scared at first? Should I wait another week and try again or do you think I was overly cautious? Need advice as a first time chicken owner -- everything has gone great so far and I don't want to screw it up!

 

[gander007]

Yes the real issue is the size of your brooder and the Feed and Water need to be accusable for all ages .....

If you look at my brooder you can see how the feed is away from
the water and the water is just raised off the floor of the brooder
and in a configuration so the chicks can't stand or drown in it .....





gander007

 

[clickclackmoo]

I've got 2 feeders and 2 waterers. The little chicks are staying very close to their Ecoglow Brooder. There has been some pecking especially by a bigger Barred Rock. And it's also seemed to make the bigger chicks a but more aggressive toward each other, something there was never an issue with before.