Mixing ages

[Chickeninthemeadow]

I was looking on Craigslist. Found an ad for chickens that by my math are 10 days old. There is 28 days before I pick up my day or two old chickens from Sumner (so these chicks will be about a month older than the chicks I get from Sumner).

By my math, the older chicks will need about another 2 weeks before going full time to the coop/run. I can keep the younger chicks in a cardboard box brooder until the older ones move out. My question is, when the younger chicks are ready to move into the coop, what can I expect from the older birds? Will they be aggressive to the younger or will they get along fine? They are all buff orps that I'm planning to get (though I may swap a few of the baby buffs for speckled sussex at Sumner).

(Can't you tell I'm eager as a beaver to get my babies?)

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've never heard of Sumner but a quick google indicated they are in North Carolina.

I personally would not do it. There are a few different reasons. Without knowing much about Sumner, I'd suspect their chicks are pretty much disease free. Hatcheries don't stay in business if they sell diseased chicks. You just don't know about chickens off Craigslist. People do mix chickens in with their flock all the time and usually do not have serious disease problems. But occasionally the entire flock is wiped out because the new chicken brings in a disease. It is possible that the Craigslist chicks are immune to some disease and will never show any symptoms themselves, but the Sumner chicks do not have that immunity. Since you don't have need to, why take this risk?

The other main issue is integration. Sometimes when you integrate new chickens, it goes so smoothly you wonder what all the fuss was about, but this result is fairly rare. Sometimes chickens die during integration. This does not happen a lot but it is a lot more common than not having problems. Usually, the more dominate chickens peck and dominate the less dominate ones and create a big uproar. People mix new chickens in all the time and are usually successful, but it is a stressful time for you and the chickens. Sometimes really bad things happen. There are techniques to improve you chances of this going more smoothly. I find that having lots of space is a big help. But again, since you don't have to, why take this risk now?

As hard as it can be, I advise waiting until you get some experience with chickens before you try integration.

 

[sueche]

Welcome

I live in Raleigh...maybe we are neighbors

I am wondering the same thing. i got 4 chick from th chicken auction(straight run) and 4 hens from Ace. I believe I have 2 roos. They are about 5 weeks old and I want more. I Was thinking of going to Sumner for some more silkies. But when the silkies are ready , my other ones will be about 3 months old.

 

[Chickeninthemeadow]

Thanks, we're in Benson (just down the road from Raleigh). I've heard good things about Sumner-Byrd and I like that they are local and don't ship birds at all. That's why I've chosen them. However, just like bringing home any newborn creature, the wait can be antagonizing (we're big animal lovers and I've been pondering chickens since I saw them last year at TSC). I suppose it would be best to wait, but I may increase my order from just 6 little guys to 8 or maybe 12. I know I'm a novice, that's why I'm asking questions. Good point about the potential for disease spread, especially with chickens so young. Besides, I'm sure my hands are going to be full enough getting everything ready by the 15th of April which is their 'due date'.

 

[BWKatz]

All good advice. Always isolate any new chicks for a month before integrating with others is a good rule to follow . Then put them in with the others at night when all are asleep . Most of the time when they wake up they just accept each other.

 

[mcjessen]

I have the same question but with younger birds. I'm getting two Buff Orp's this Wednesday (3/30) and decided that I need one more. I've decided on an Astrolorp pullet but our local farm store won't have any in until April 7th. That's a week and a day later from receiving my Orps. Probably about an 8 day age difference. Is that much of an age difference a big deal? Should I be concerned about the Buff's picking on the Astro? Chicken math has taken hold. LOL!