Chipmunk Chicks
Free Ranging
Hiya, BYC. I have seen information on both sides of the spectrum - "One must NEVER mix different ages of chicks" / "You can absolutely mix ages of chicks," ...provided they are not too far apart in age, watch for bullying, have enough space, multiple feeders and waterers etc etc etc.
My chicks are 26 and 11 days old today (almost 4 weeks and almost 2 weeks, hatched 15 days apart). I brought the little ones outside for the first time today in a baby gate corral, which was also their first time "meeting" the bigger ones. Up to this point, they had just been in nearby brooders where they could hear each other, and somewhat see each other past the cardboard that's wrapped about their dog crates. Seeing as they are all chicks, (not in different life stages), and really only 15 days apart (which, while admittedly is a bigger difference now, will matter less when they are 6 months and 5.5 months), and my older chicks are really so docile (Australorps), plus based on how I'm getting to know them from watching them all the time, and how well the first meeting outside went today, I really just felt like it would not be a problem to mix them straight away. It should be simpler for me to maintain one big brooder for the rest of their time indoors (in my dining room lol), and more importantly, I thought it would be easier for them to make the incorporation sooner, rather than wait till the first cohort is in the coop, and then introduce the new cohort, also in the coop, two weeks later... I figure just get it over with sooner rather than later, and that way they've already had a chance to work out all their pecking order stuff together BEFORE all moving into the coop at once. i.e. 5 and 7 weeks or 6 and 8 weeks ish.
One positive clue was when they were outside for a few minutes and I came to check, the little ones had swapped places and were inside the carrier, along with one of my bigger pullets who was already playing mama hen.
When I went to finally bring them in, all but one had piled into the carrier together on their own. Once they came inside, she actually went all broody with them and was snuggling up with the littles in the warm corner of the brooder. It was so adorable! But later on, I noticed the littles were all piled up but in the cooler corner, and I wondered if the bigs had pushed them out of the warm spot, which would not be good, because I do know they have different needs for warmth at this stage. The bigs could probably almost have the heat lamp off (except we've been putting the AC on) where the littles for sure still need it.
So all that to say, I'm keeping an eye on things. The littles are tough, and the bigs are so mild, so I'm not super worried about a temperament mismatch. I'm hopeful it might be good to help calm some of the bossiness from a couple of the littles, actually. But I realize that they are still animals, and anything can happen.
I guess my question is whether this seems like it could be an okay situation going forward, and just play it by ear? Or better to consider it a successful trial run, and put the littles back into their own brooder again tonight? And as I do incorporate them hopefully along some kind of earlier (pre-coop side of the) timeline, is there anything else specifically I need to be watching out for that might be red flags that it's too soon or not going well? I really just want to do what's best for my flock and learn how to be responsive to their needs.
[For reference, we are talking about five 4-week Australorps and six 2-week Welsummers, the bigger brooder being a nice big 48" long (10sqft) metal dog crate, with a few perches at multiple heights, 2x food and water, pine flake and cardboard around the borders. Summer in NJ for coop transition. My other looming concern is how long this size of crate brooder will comfortably hold eleven(!) chickens, and I'm so grateful the weather is nice, because brooder space will probably be the main driver to getting them outside into the coop. I thought I could possibly also somehow attach another smaller crate onto the end, in order to add another 3 sqft, if need be.]
Thanks so much!!!
My chicks are 26 and 11 days old today (almost 4 weeks and almost 2 weeks, hatched 15 days apart). I brought the little ones outside for the first time today in a baby gate corral, which was also their first time "meeting" the bigger ones. Up to this point, they had just been in nearby brooders where they could hear each other, and somewhat see each other past the cardboard that's wrapped about their dog crates. Seeing as they are all chicks, (not in different life stages), and really only 15 days apart (which, while admittedly is a bigger difference now, will matter less when they are 6 months and 5.5 months), and my older chicks are really so docile (Australorps), plus based on how I'm getting to know them from watching them all the time, and how well the first meeting outside went today, I really just felt like it would not be a problem to mix them straight away. It should be simpler for me to maintain one big brooder for the rest of their time indoors (in my dining room lol), and more importantly, I thought it would be easier for them to make the incorporation sooner, rather than wait till the first cohort is in the coop, and then introduce the new cohort, also in the coop, two weeks later... I figure just get it over with sooner rather than later, and that way they've already had a chance to work out all their pecking order stuff together BEFORE all moving into the coop at once. i.e. 5 and 7 weeks or 6 and 8 weeks ish.
One positive clue was when they were outside for a few minutes and I came to check, the little ones had swapped places and were inside the carrier, along with one of my bigger pullets who was already playing mama hen.
When I went to finally bring them in, all but one had piled into the carrier together on their own. Once they came inside, she actually went all broody with them and was snuggling up with the littles in the warm corner of the brooder. It was so adorable! But later on, I noticed the littles were all piled up but in the cooler corner, and I wondered if the bigs had pushed them out of the warm spot, which would not be good, because I do know they have different needs for warmth at this stage. The bigs could probably almost have the heat lamp off (except we've been putting the AC on) where the littles for sure still need it.So all that to say, I'm keeping an eye on things. The littles are tough, and the bigs are so mild, so I'm not super worried about a temperament mismatch. I'm hopeful it might be good to help calm some of the bossiness from a couple of the littles, actually. But I realize that they are still animals, and anything can happen.
I guess my question is whether this seems like it could be an okay situation going forward, and just play it by ear? Or better to consider it a successful trial run, and put the littles back into their own brooder again tonight? And as I do incorporate them hopefully along some kind of earlier (pre-coop side of the) timeline, is there anything else specifically I need to be watching out for that might be red flags that it's too soon or not going well? I really just want to do what's best for my flock and learn how to be responsive to their needs.
[For reference, we are talking about five 4-week Australorps and six 2-week Welsummers, the bigger brooder being a nice big 48" long (10sqft) metal dog crate, with a few perches at multiple heights, 2x food and water, pine flake and cardboard around the borders. Summer in NJ for coop transition. My other looming concern is how long this size of crate brooder will comfortably hold eleven(!) chickens, and I'm so grateful the weather is nice, because brooder space will probably be the main driver to getting them outside into the coop. I thought I could possibly also somehow attach another smaller crate onto the end, in order to add another 3 sqft, if need be.]
Thanks so much!!!
