Mixing chicks with chicks.

[SaltLakeSpice]

I know a fair amount of care should be taken when introducing young chickens to an established older flock but what about mixing chicks with other chicks? I want to get a few day olds from a local feed store but the breeds I'm interested in come from a couple different stores. So if I was able to pick them all up within the span of a week or two, could I have pretty good success mixing them in the brooder? What concerns should I be looking out for?

 

[teach1rusl]

No first hand experience, but I'd think you would still need to monitor for pecking issues from the older chicks. There's still a decent difference in size between a two week old and a chick that's only a few days old. Make sure the smaller ones are getting food/water, not being chased/pecked away from them...

 

[felidaet]

I had no issues mixing chicks picked up on different dates last year. All of mine are LF. No Bantams. If any are weak or undersized you may want to separate them for a couple of days. If you are getting them from a feed store they will likely already be at least 3 days old and therefore you should not have issues with weak chicks. This is a major reason I buy mine from a feed store, I don't have to deal with the weak or sickly chicks.

 

[dako'ng itlog]

I have two three week old chicks and am expecting an order of new chicks tomorrow in the mail. I am planning on seperating my chicks for at least a week but the three week olds are probably at least twice as big as the new chicks. I would think if your chicks are all less than a week or so old you are probably fine mixing them. You probably just need to monitor them closely for a few days.

I didn't know you could have chickens in Sugarhouse. How many are you aloud there? I live in Bluffdale. We can have twenty chickens per acre of land here. Layton has been in the news lately. They decided to allow people to have backyard chickens but require registration and a $30/year fee. It is total BS! I'm glad I live in Bluffdale where chickens get more love!

Good luck!