Merging chicks into main flock - feeding concerns

[GardenJen77]

Wow, I never knew lol. All the little pamphlets they give you and on the brands like Purina and Dumor, they say start chicks on starter until 10 weeks, then grower for another 8, then the layer. This is for egg chickens not meat. So nice to hear that I don't NEED layer, that grower will work fine. A lot less hassle. I will read the info @lazy gardener suggested and go from there then. Thanks a bunch!

 

[GardenJen77]

X2
I brood side by side from day one now and integrate at 3-4 weeks using this approach. It simplifies things for all involved as it most closely replicates chicks raised in the flock by a broody hen and naturally integrating as independent birds at "weaning".

Since I get my chicks when it is still very cold, and my coop isn't big enough to support a separate brooding area, my chicks are raised indoors until they are big enough to survive the colder temps. So they generally aren't outdoors until they are at least 6 weeks old, depending on the weather. This is why integration could be an issue. But I will continue to read up on and learn how to do this better if I end up getting more chicks next year. (LOL)

 

[lazy gardener]

Just FYI, chicks that are brooded in the house can be off heat completely by 3 weeks of age (unless you keep your house VERY COLD). During week 4, they can be spending increasingly longer periods of time outdoors. Depending on temps, they could be outside all day long. They should be fine to move into coop full time any time between week 4 - 6.

My chicks are brooded outside in a grow out coop with MHP method. They WEAN THEMSELVES off heat at 4 - 5 weeks of age with night time temps going down to freezing, and occasionally high 20's.

For anyone who is hesitant to progress chicks towards moving into the coop, there is always the huddle box or wool hen.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Wow, I never knew lol. All the little pamphlets they give you and on the brands like Purina and Dumor, they say start chicks on starter until 10 weeks, then grower for another 8, then the layer. This is for egg chickens not meat. So nice to hear that I don't NEED layer, that grower will work fine. A lot less hassle. I will read the info @lazy gardener suggested and go from there then. Thanks a bunch!

You can manage them that way, it becomes problematic, though, as you are now seeing, when you have a mixed flock. That approach is easier applied in a commercial setting where birds are managed as large age groups

 

[Chicken Chat]

I don't like taking up room inside my coops either. When I choose to raise the chicks inside, they are feathered up and I need to start integrating them, I set up a temporary fenced off area in my big run and use a modified cedar dog house (so they have shelter from the elements) I secured to the fencing on the outside of my run so it isn't taking up valuable room inside the run. The chicks can spend the day getting used to being outside and around the big girls for a week or two before I open a gap in the temporary fencing to see how they all react to each other. If the nights are still chilly, I tote them back to my house to spend the night. Sometimes it takes a couple weeks, sometimes just 1 week. If the adults act ok to them, the chicks start spending the nights in the big coop. I also use that little dog house as a quarantine if I need it too.

 

[GardenJen77]

Just FYI, chicks that are brooded in the house can be off heat completely by 3 weeks of age (unless you keep your house VERY COLD). During week 4, they can be spending increasingly longer periods of time outdoors. Depending on temps, they could be outside all day long. They should be fine to move into coop full time any time between week 4 - 6.

My chicks are brooded outside in a grow out coop with MHP method. They WEAN THEMSELVES off heat at 4 - 5 weeks of age with night time temps going down to freezing, and occasionally high 20's.

For anyone who is hesitant to progress chicks towards moving into the coop, there is always the huddle box or wool hen.

When they were inside the main house, I had them off at week 2, just because they were in a room that has a wood stove and that wood stove pumps out heat. I had the chicks on my outside porch after week 4, with a heat lamp on at night when temps got so cold that water was still freezing solid because temps dropped into single digits. Really freakish April. I had to wait until they were at least 5 weeks old to make sure the run was ready. One thing about little ones, they show you where you have issues with your fencing not being "chick proof". .

Thanks @Ol Grey Mare for the info. Good to know!