Mixing two different aged chicks?

[daniel-delarosa]

I have some 8 week old RIR's and some 5 week RIR's. The eight week olds are out in their own coop/run. The fives are still inside the barn in a hanging cage. They are partially feathered out and half the size of the older ones. Would it be ok to put them together now or should they be a bit older?

 

[AlienChick]

There will always be some pecking going on, but your problem is the SIZE difference.

The older/bigger ones will definately be more dominant over the little ones, even to the point of bullying them away from the feeder.

You can put the younger ones' cage right next to the older ones so they can get acquainted and allow them to mix (supervised) until you notice that the younger ones are not being picked on.

It usually doesn't take too long to integrate; you just gotta watch them for a day or two to be sure there are no bullies.