Question about feeding two age groups

[lilbirdee]

I have absolutely got to combine my 2 groups. Space is most of the issue, but the other is that the younger group has not been able to go outside because the door to the coop is in the big girls half.
So I have seven 17 week old girls in the first group, still on grower pellets. The second group is 13 chickens aged 8-11 weeks.
I'm already stressed about putting them all together and hoping for the best as far as them not killing each other. But NOW I'm troubled about the food. I know the big girls need to be switched to Layer pellets soon. But if I successfully combine everyone how do I handle the feeding. I know that there is no way to feed them different food after they are all in one coop. So I guess the big question is...can the big girls stay on the grower pellets until the rest of the flock gets to the age that they need the layer pellets?

 

[Mahonri]

Others here will tell you it won't hurt the little ones, but I'm here to tell you to put the younger ones in a pen until they are at least 16 weeks... then you can try and integrate them.

 

[onthespot]

If you MUST put them together, I would put a piece of plywood on bricks so the little guys can go under it. Put their food and water so that the big birds can't get to it or poop in it, but the little guys can. Feed the big birds up high on a shelf or something the little guys won't be able to reach for a while. They will continue to eath where they are used to for a long time before they go looking for other places to eat, unless you forget to feed them and they see the others eating up high, then they will fly up there and see what there is to eat. Put other objects around that form visual blocks that the little guys can go behind, but beware of building traps, not only dead ends, wedges pits they can't jump out of and such, but also deadfalls from propped items that can fall and smash a

 

[lilbirdee]

I could keep them separated longer. But it is getting really hard to have them in 2 pens. The pens are actually one pen with a wire divider between them so they have sort of been together for 12 weeks now. But the younger group is out growing their half, which is smaller. By the time the youngest ones are 16 weeks old their space will be way too small and there really is no way to make it bigger.
Obviously I neglected to plan ahead on this one when blinded by the baby chick fever.

 

[chixrus]

everone told me 'no don't put them together!' and i didn't follow their advice. however, the big chickens have been great with the little ones, they don't have much patience with them, but they don't kill them, and i have a full grown rooster. I've been feeding mine a mix of both, because they free-range all day and don't eat much feed anyway.