i had a similar thing. one of my eggs was three or four days later to hatch, so put the little guy in with his siblings in the cardboard box i start out with in new hatchlings.. pecking started, so had to separate them, but only one heat lamp. so i grabbed a picture frame glass and slid it down on the corners of the box, thus creating two different zones. each could see the other but do no damage. after a few days i introduced them, then later then went to their normal brooding place together.
I put a box or container with a small hole that only the little chickens can get in and put food and water in it and the little ones can wander in and out and slowly acclimate themselves with the other chickensI have seen several posts about mixing chicks/chickens of different ages, and that the older ones tend to pick on the younger ones. I have some chicks that are 6 weeks old and some that are 2 weeks old. I won't be able to put the 2-week old ones out in the coop/run for another 2-3 weeks anyway, but at that time my older ones will be 8-9 weeks old, and the newbies will be 4-5 weeks old.
What's the best way to introduce them to minimize the damage? I understand that this will disrupt their pecking order, but I have heard/read that if I keep the newbies in a cage within the coop, the others will have time to get used to their presence before I actually "mix" them freely, and they might not really get violent. Is this true, and how long of a time frame do they probably need to get used to each other?
Question Part 2: I have a friend with some fully grown hens, and some 6 week old chicks. They are about ready to start mixing them. Will the fully-grown hens really "pick on" the chicks? Or will the pecking order be pretty automatic considering the size/age differential?
