Hi everyone! As some of you know I bought 5 baby chicks two weeks ago. Tomorrow I am going to get 5 more...probably smaller babies. My older ones are probably 2 months? They have wing feathers and tail feathers, but their heads and bellies are still fuzzy. Can I pop the 5 new ones into the brooder without a problem or will the older ones attack?
They have wing feathers and tail feathers, but their heads and bellies are still fuzzy. That sounds more like three weeks old to me, believe it or not! My six week old chicks are fully feathered with no fuzz at all. They are much bigger than city pigeons, for reference, and take two hands to pick up securely. As for the new chicks- you might be able to just put them together with close supervision. I added 4 day old chicks to 2 1/2 week old chicks and after a few pecks and some initial nervous shrieking, it hasn't been a problem. It sounds like your chicks might be the same age difference and thus you might be able to just combine them with caution. Make sure the new chicks get water and have ample access to food, of course. The older ones might boss them around a bit. -MTchick