Three 2 week olds and one 1 day old?

[ATeamFamousChicks]

Background on our flock:
So we got three new chicks a couple weeks ago from our locally owned feed store to add to our flock of 6, but the owner didn't have any of his Jersey Giants left so we decided we would come back for one when he got his next shipment in 5 days. Well our first three are about 2 weeks old now and I brought the baby Jersey home yesterday. I forgot just how SMALL they were when they first hatched! We placed her in with the big girls and watched all day to see what the others reactions would be. They all came from the same hatchery and feed supplier and we set up an indoor brooder just in case she wasn't accepted by the older chicks. Everything seems to be fine, a few little pecks from our easter egger Bunny, and my husband actually witnessed the baby chick, Empress, chasing one of them away from her.

So even though everyone seems to be doing fine I'm slightly concerned about how small she is in comparison to the other girls. As of this morning everyone still seems to be getting along fine, they did all bed down together several times throughout the day and night, poor baby girl kept trying to nestle in with the big girls and they didn't hurt her but they seemed annoyed and kept getting up. I feel bad for the baby girl being the only tiny one, but we REALLY do not want a 5th chick, and I REALLY wanted the one Jersey. Our coop is amazing and compared to most people we have a huge enclosure, plus they get the run of the back yard several times a week, but 10 chickens is about all I'm willing to put in that space. Our coop is very roomy on the inside with 6 nesting boxes, but 11 chickens might be pushing it.

Here's my questions:
If the one day old chick isn't being accepted what should I look for? At this time she is up and moving around and getting water and food and no "fights" ever broke out as far as we could tell. One of the older girls pecked at her out of curiosity but never hurt her when we first put them in and we have seen a couple more little curiosity pecks from the others but nothing major that made her cheep or cry out.

She lasted the night just fine (I checked on her like every half hour) so do I really need to go get another baby chick to help with the cliquey pecking order later? This is a suggestion I've seen several times but hadn't looked up until I got home with her and remembered just how small they are at first!

Thanks folks!

 

[sourland]

I would have recommended waiting until the chick was several days old and somewhat larger, but to me it sounds as if things are progressing quite well. I would just monitor to make sure the new chick is getting enough to eat and drink. Good luck.

 

[ATeamFamousChicks]

Thanks, I'm keeping an eye on her to see if she gets sluggish or anything. My main concern is introducing her too late to the other chicks.

Do you think they would be OK if we took her out for a few days and then reintroduced her? I know the older they get the less likely it is to be a smooth introduction.