Mixing Different Aged Chicks?

[Buster098]

Hi, I've got some chicks that are all around 1 and half weeks old and some more chicks have just hatched today, sooooo... would I be able to put the new chicks in with the older ones or would that not be a good idea??

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

I would say they're close enough in age...

There's a section in the Learning Center of BYC that gives advice on how to intergrate chicks. I think it's in the 'raising chicks' section.

 

[Buster098]

ok thank you

 

[moetrout]

I have 2-3 week olds in with my 2-3 day olds. No problems so far. The only integration we did was put them together and watch them for a bit.

 

[wbruder17]

Same here. Just watch them carefully. I have chicks of several different agges together and just added a 3 day old banty that iS Tiny. I was very concerned at fist as they were a lttile rough and flying about toppling her over. I created a partition of chicjen wire and gave her a younger chick for a buddy but when I woke up today, she was on the other side happily with all the other chicks and her buddy was unhappily alone. She was small enough to get through the chicken wire!

I just took out the partition and she seems quick enough to get out of everyones way and still snuggle together in the middle of the huddle.

So....I say they're ok as long as you watch them.

 

[gryeyes]

What wbruder17 said. I've used hardware cloth partitions for a day or two when I put bantam chicks in with older LF chicks, just to let them get "up to speed" and ready for the onslaught. They do get bowled over pretty easily, but within a couple of days, you can remove the partition and let them all mingle.

 

[newchickgal]

A neighbor just gave me two of his chicks, about 1 and half weeks old. I mixed them in with my 2 1/2 months old chicks. Everyone is getting along great, which did surprise me a bit. The mama hen to the little baby chicks was killed by a critter and since I have a fenced in area for the chicks plus a small coop, which my neighbor doesn't, he wanted them to be there where they would have a chance to survive.

 

[Buster098]

Ok thanks everyone. I put them all together last night with no partition and they've all been ok since so its all gunna be ok now im sure

The older ones were running around flapping their wings and knocking the younger ones about to begin with but when they all settled down to sleep they were fine, all together snuggled up haha!

 

[newchickgal]

That's great news! During the day I put the older ones in their run area and leave the little ones inside the coop. The little ones get to have the roost during the day but at night the older ones take it over

 

[carolinasculpture]

I worried about this too, but there never seemed to be any problem. I wish it were that easy as they get bigger...