I have two chicks, an astralorp and a barred Plymouth who are about half the size of the other 6 chicks. They seem okay, and tend to hang out in the corners of the brooder, away from the bigger chicks, but I am just wondering if I would be helping or hurting if I gave the two of them some room of their own.
As long as they're not getting picked on or kept away from food/water/warmth, they may be best off with the rest -- that way you will not have the extra social aggression issues that come with introducing them back to the others later on. Last spring I had two chicks significantly smaller than the other 18; both turned out to be a little on the smallish end of the size spectrum when they grew up but mostly I think they were just on a different schedule than the rest, and they never had any problems with their size or the other chicks. Good luck, Pat
