So I've started raising chicks, I have 7 that are going to be 2 weeks and 5 days old when the second hatch happens if any make it, I've had a hard time with humidity but believe I've got it set now. Out of this hatch I'm only getting one chick maybe 2. I am hoping that I can put them in with the earlier chicks. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Also I'm going to do the easter hatch-a-long but am concerned that if I only have 1 or two chicks make it again where to put them I assume that at 6 weeks I cannot integrate until around the 20 week period when they are all the same size if they get along. Thanks for the help.
We mixed chicks that were about a week and a half apart in age with no problems. When my husband brought the last round of chicks home, the others were quite a bit bigger and they weren't able to compete for the food quite as well so we separated them. I think it'll depend a lot on the size, but I've never hatched my own chicks.
It really depends on the temperaments of all the chicks, new and old. This is a common issue during chick season and we get one or two threads, at least, per day on the subject of putting different aged chicks together. I've been there, too, and it's really a matter of trying it and seeing if it works. In my case, it didn't. The chicks were just too far apart in age and size. However, if you ever think it would be dandy to add new chicks to a brooder of four-week olds, that would be the cut-off for simply saying no. By then the size difference is just too great. You may be pushing it a bit to try three-week olds with new chicks, but you won't know until you try it. It was either last spring or the spring before that someone here wanted to put a single new chick with several three-week olds. We all said it was highly unlikely it would work. The OP updated their thread and said the new chick was a little tiger, actually bossing around the older chicks, more than holding its own with chicks more than double its size. To increase your chances of it working, make sure you have a brooder of ample size so there's plenty of space for the new chicks to run away from the older ones. Also, the heat needs of the new chicks will be greater than those of the older ones. You may need to lower the heat lamp for the new chicks, if that's your heat source, and the older chicks will need plenty of space to get away from the heat. Let us know how it works out.
How long do you keep them on chick starter and how do you guys get you chicks to get so big? I just bought 2 light bra mas and 2 seabright
