Will older chicks pick on younger chicks added later to brooder? PICS!

[JillsChicks]

Two purposes in listing this post - to show pics of my chicks - finally! And to ask about adding younger chicks to the brooder.

A friend successfully hatched some hybrid DeKalb chicks a week after mine hatched. She'd like to be done brooding as they only wanted the experience of hatching and I had offered to take her chicks when she was done. But my hubby says that my older chicks will antagonize my friend's younger chicks when I put them together. What's your experience been? They are a different breed than mine.

And here are the pics!

This is Dottie/General Lee (depending on gender!) The feet are partially black like a black australorp, but not black on the bottom. She's also darker than BA chicks I've seen. She came out of a blue green egg!

Prima was our first chick. She has continued to feather out more quickly than any of the other chicks. She chirps loudly when I walk out of the room or she doesn't hear me in the next room! She is the biggest chick but not the most dominant.

Noah, my birding enthusiast, loves to amuse the chicks. He weighs them daily.

Jill and her girlfriend holding chickies

My favorite picture of "Golden". I hope he's pure Buff Orpington and that he's a rooster!

 

[robbobbin]

Great pics-beautiful chicks and kids!
I've found that the further apart in age between the chicks the more trouble they'll have. Older chicks tend to "starve out" the younger ones if not watched closely.
Good luck!

 

[verthandi]

I have added chicks a week apart in age without difficulty. The brooder that I use is a clear plastic storage tote. I found a smaller clear tote that fit half way across the top and came half way down inside the bigger tote.

The younger chicks went in the top box and were closer to the heat source. The older chicks had a few days to check them out through the safety of the plastic. When I introduced the younger chicks to the original crowd, one of the bigger, older chicks took care of all of the new ones and kept them from harm.

Today I had just the opposite experience happen. I added 4 two week old chicks to my brooder that has housed a solo chick that is 7 weeks old. I had made the little ones a cardboard house to hide in if the big chick tried to bother them. I was expecting trouble from the older chick.....but he was scared to death of the babies. If they even walk near him, he flies up on his roost.

 

[verthandi]

Update on scared Boogie and the younger chicks. I just checked on them for the night. Two chicks were missing....eee gads! I found them sleeping under Boogie's wings. All is well.