What Is Best For My Chicks??? Advise Please

[chickie<3]

So here it goes..10 weeks ago i got 5 day old chicks...i kept 2 and gave 3 to my dad after 5 weeks in the brooder...NOW I ordered 5 more day old chicks and they arrived today..OMG..they r cute...the plan is to give my dad 2 and i will keep 3 giving us 5 each. Should I give my dad his 2 now to raise in the brooder until they r ready to go in the coop with the others or do i keep all 5 chicks and seperate them when they r ready for the coop..or do i give him all the chicks and take his 3 10 week old pullets and reunite them with their original brooder buddies...My concern is that the 10 week olds were here for 5 weeks then we took them out of their enviroment and brought them to my dad's..and now after being there for 5 weeks and loving it and getting used to their new enviroment and loving their luxury coop..do i displace them again and bring them back here..UGH!!!...or do i just keep everything the way it is and give him his 2 chicks and they will get used to being there and everyone will be happy?

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are likely to have integration issues any way you go. If you keep the same age together, the odds are the issues will not be as great. I'd keep the five young ones together and reunite the older ones. That way, the young ones do not have integration issues. There is more danger in integrating young chickens of different ages.

 

[Happy Chooks]

That depends. Can your dad watch them? Can he brood them?

I would keep the babies for a week or 2 then probably give the ones for your dad to him. I have found that it is easier to integrate when they are young, but I do keep a really close eye on them to make sure there's no issues. If your dad can give them a space where they can see and not touch, even better. So they have time to get used to each other. If he doesn't want to have the brooder set up for them, then I'd keep them all until they are feathered out.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Saw that Ridgerunner posted at the same time. I defer to Ridgerunner's experience as it is more experienced than mine.