young chicks killing young chicks

[hddave2]

whats up with that...i got 7 five week old chicks and they are killing anything i put in with them...the chicks that were put in with them were about 3.5 to 4 weeks old and not much smaller than the killers...whats up with that...is this normal...dang if this keeps up i'll have to build seperate pins every single time i hatch eggs...anyone else have this problem...the pen i keep them in is a 7ft long x 4ft wide x 40inch tall...

 

[NovaAman]

I think you need to separate. I keep mine separate from the rest till the youngest are 3 months. They can all see each other thou, so it not new. But I do not let my 6 wk chicks with my adults, or my 2 week chicks and moms near the 6 wk chicks.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I'm sorry, but you are violating some basic rules of chicken society. The chicken develops a tightly knit, rigid, social order. By two weeks, the "flock", even a flock of chicks, know who is who and a new chick is often regarded as an intruder. This is nature's way and we as keepers must understand it.

An established flock of older birds can literally peck and kill a new bird introduced improperly. Pack dogs, wolves, etc, do a similar thing in the canine world.
Adoption into the flock takes gentle care and sensitivity. A day to two where the separate flocks can smell, see, and listen to each other, and build some familiarity, safely behind a screen that divides them, often helps in the initiation and introduction.

In a close space of a brooder, there is no place, typically, for the "stranger" to run and hide. Chicks of 5-6 weeks old are so much more mature than a one week or two week old chick. I would find the "window of opportunity" closes at just about 14 days of difference in age. That's my experience. Some breeds are more accepting, but one never knows how a disruption in the flock dynamic will cause them to react.

 

[debid]

Since your pen is plenty big, why not put a wire wall down the middle temporarily and brood the two groups side-by-side?

 

[hddave2]

thats exactly what im going to do...lost 4 nice chicks and im not wanting to loose anymore..i got 5- 2 week old chicks in the house and 10 eggs in the incubator...

 

[Lollipop]

Very well said, Fred...........Pop

 

[debid]

I mixed ages with my chicks by 3 weeks... BUT, they were all thrown together at the same time so I wasn't adding chicks to an established order. That makes all of the difference.

 

[hddave2]

 

[hddave2]

 

[hddave2]

these are the best pics i can get...not sure if anyone can tell whats roo or hen....