When can you mix ages?

[CowgirlPenny]

I have twelve 4.5 week old chicks in our teen coop outside. I have three 3 day old chicks in the brooder in the house. Obviously the new ones won't live outside until after they have feathered , but when can I mix them together as one flock?

 

[mother o' chicks72]

wait til the little guys have started to feather out and are at least 3/4 the size of the bigger ones.

 

[ella]

Physically they can compete when they are about the same size as the adult (16-18 weeks) .

In my personal experience it's more like when they are psychologically ready at about 19-30 weeks. Or when they start laying eggs.

 

[CowgirlPenny]

Quote:
I have to wait 6 months before I can blend my two groups?

I mean, when these are 4 weeks old, my older ones will be 8 weeks old, is that too far apart to blend when the older ones are say....12 weeks? The little ones would be 8.

 

[chickenlickin8]

Quote:
I have to wait 6 months before I can blend my two groups?

I mean, when these are 4 weeks old, my older ones will be 8 weeks old, is that too far apart to blend when the older ones are say....12 weeks? The little ones would be 8.

I have integrated before and they were 3 weeks apart. When your babies are 2 to 3 weeks old, introduce them then. Introduction at an older age is always harder than when they are still fairly young and more accepting....this has been my experience anyway. Good Luck!

 

[hennyannie]

Cowgirlpenny,I like to get them in one group as soon as possible. With the chicks or big hens I find that if I move everybody to to a strange area they have not been, they all worry about the new place and not the new chickens. Just make sure you have lots of space so that they are not crowded. I feel that if you wait until they are about to lay they will be out of sorts. I like to get everybody settled in a few weeks before they lay. I had good luck doing this last year with some 18 week olds and some 18 month olds, the older hens were busy checking out the new place, they had been in a smaller pen.

 

[NanaLantana]

I know how you feel - I couldn't wait to merge my two groups. It's a lot of work starting with two groups of different aged chicks! Next time, I'll just get more peeps to start with, all the same age.

I integrated my chicks slowly to the bigger ones - separated by chicken wire but adjacent. I did not trust them together until the little ones could figure out to RUN when they saw an aggressive chicken coming! They now have lots of room together in the outer run, they can run FAST, and they're very watchful. And they're only 6 weeks old. The older ones are 9 weeks old. Who knew it would be such trouble having 2 age groups! They're totally integrated now - and they're even getting a little closer to each other. Not so much pecking - I'm happy

On that note, you'll have to figure out your own way according to your setup. Hope all goes well!

 

[wannabchick]

This is why I just tested my 3 week olds with my 2 day olds..infact to my amazement..the 3 week old marans and favorelles

Have completely accepted the 2 day olds..their all snuggled up to each other..and the two day olds..keep following around the older ones..trying to do what they do.

Not all breeds could I mix like this..but this group..looks like it's gonna work

I tried integrating..new bos with another group yesterday..not successful..brought the bos back into the house..errrrr

Lol

 

[CowgirlPenny]

Well, currently baby chicks are inside (there are 3) in a 2x4 brooder. Once feathered, they will go out to the teenage brooder that's 8x8. That's where my 12 four week old ones are now. Once the older ones outgrow that, they will go to a 25x60 run. Beyond that, we'll be weeding out a few that don't work with our flock (I have two in particular that are a little aggressive, and two I suspect are Roos) and the end group will live together in the run.

My plan is in 3 weeks, to put the babies outside in the teen brooder for a day or two with the big chicks. Once everyone seems to be ok they will all go to the big run. Lots of places for the little three to get out of the way of the larger ones in the big run.

I just hope it all goes well! My older chicks are very gentle and sweet (minus the two I mentioned) so I *hope* they would accept them quickly
Would it be better to let them meet soon, or maybe once a week for a few minutes before I finally add them in, in a few weeks? Or just stick them all together when the little ones are ready?