Mixing different ages of chicks

[Vanilla Gorilla]

So these 4 were hatched on Thursday, March 7th. Their mother is an Andalusian, and their father is an Isbar. I call them Andalbars. I had to sell their father, he was driving all my neighbors crazy. But I wanted to hatch as many of his babies as possible, so I immediately put another batch in my incubator.

My predicament is this: I'll have 2 batches of chicks that are 3 weeks apart in age. I really only have one good brooder setup. I also know that older chicks will pick on younger ones. How should I arrange housing for all these little dust balls? Can I mix them together after an initial "getting to know you" phase? Or will the older ones continue to bully the younger ones?

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

I had a staggered hatch too of the same siblings. About 2 weeks apart, I wanna say. Anyway, I didn't see any problems at all..... they all got along well, most of the time they are just too busy looking for food then trying to establish any sort of pecking order.

 

[AbigaelR]

Ive mixed ages and just always keep a super close eye on them. Usually there isnt to much of an issue and they all get along just fine!

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Ive mixed ages and just always keep a super close eye on them. Usually there isnt to much of an issue and they all get along just fine!

What if we were mixed together? Will we get along just fine too?

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

You can try it. Being that old, I would wait until the chicks that are newly hatched are completely dry, then go ahead and turn off the lamp, or any lights you have, and put them in. Then turn it back on. If you notice picking, you can simply just divide your brooder in half, and put the batched in separate ends.