Older chicks living with younger chicks?

[halecards]

I'm hatching barred rock chicks right now, and there's 15 of them and they're now about 2 days old. We ordered some day old chicks, turkeys, and ducks which might come in a week or possibly two weeks. Will it be okay to put the barred rocks (that will be 1-2 weeks old) with the new birds that we ordered (that will be 2 days old) in the same brooder? Thanks!

 

[frizzleman74]

i would wait untill their both feathered out! the barred rocks will bully and peck at the youngsters and could kill them! Once their all about the same size and fully feathered its safe for them to be together. The care a 2 day old chick and a 2 week old chick needs is a little different. I would keep them separate for a little bit.

 

[Caliphe]

I actually integrated day olds with week and a half olds fine. There was some brief curiosity pecking and then everyone settled into a flock. I didn't have any problems with bullying and haven't seen any to date. If you really want to do it, I would suggest just sitting and observing them together for a while. If they can't play nice, it's probably not going to work.


Good luck!

 

[Judy]

Seems like I've read they mix well up til about 3 weeks. Not the same as integrating adults or juvies with adults.

 

[spiritdance]

I've integrated them up to almost 3 weeks. As long as they have enough room and the heat zone is big enough to accommodate two temp needs, it can work out. I've even had older chicks take on a "mother" role with younger ones. As the previous poster said, I would observe them for a while before trusting the older chicks to "play nice," though.

 

[halecards]

Ok thanks a lot!!

. How about raising the chicks, ducklings, and baby turkeys together? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks!!

 

[spiritdance]

You shouldn't raise or house turkeys where chickens have been housed. chickens are more resistant to black head and can thus be carriers and infect your turkeys, which are not as resistant. As for ducks, I don't brood or house them with my chicks because ducks are so much messier and will "share the fun" with the chicks. I'd rather clean a smaller duck brooder umpteen times a day than have to clean a much larger one for both chicks and ducks that frequently. My chicks seldom need their brooder cleaned more than once a day, and once they're on pine bedding, it's every other day (my brooder is plenty big enough). Some people brood them together and don't seem to mind the extra mess, but since I usually have several brooders going at once, it's just easier to give the ducks their own space.