putting chicks of different ages together?

[miabyrer]

I have six week old pullets about to go outside into their new coop (as soon as I finish building it) I am getting a few more chicks this week. My question is this... once the youngest are 6 weeks old we will move them outside as well. Are there any special considerations I need to take into account when adding the 6 week old chicks in with the 12 week old chicks? I don't want the little ones picked on.
Thanks

 

[miraclz5]

I am not an expert but from all the reading that I have done and questions I have asked of seasoned vetrans, my suggestion by the time they are 6 and 12 weeks old they should do fine.....the sounding suggestion I have heard about putting older birds together is to introduce the new birds to the flock at night in the dark! Good Luck!

 

[CMV]

I would not put them together until the youngest birds are 12-14 weeks old. At 14 weeks they are all going to be about the same size, and size does matter in the chicken world. You put your youngsters in at 6 weeks and they are going to get beaten up because they will be too small. I start integrations at 12 weeks, but don't actually let the birds physically mingle until 2 weeks later. That 2 weeks is dedicated to them all getting used to the sight and presence of each other without actually being able to touch each other.

Here's a great link on integration. I recommend everyone read it because it is so educational and informative.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

I hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
What CMV said. It's what I do, too.