Can I put new chicks in with week old chicks?

[KaldakurFarm]

I have a few birds that are 6 weeks old in one "weaning off the light at night" brooder, a group of chicks in another brooder indoors that are a week old. I have day old chicks from two different sources arriving this week. I thought I read somewhere that you shouldn't mix chicks of different ages, but I can't find the article now to get more information.

Am I OK to put the new chicks arriving this week with the chicks that were hatched last week? Some of the arriving chicks are from the same farm I got the week old batch from, and the rest are from another farm. Older birds I would quarantine... but I'm not sure what the correct route to take is with chicks. What is the age difference that you need to keep them separated at? What is the reason for keeping them apart? Sickness tolerance? Thank you!

 

[azygous]

Hatchlings with one-week olds is perfectly doable. Putting them with the six-week olds is not, as you've probably already figured out.

Until around four weeks, chicks aren't taking much notice of size and age differences or what chicks they're with. After that, they have formed their unit with their peers and new chicks are looked on as outsiders.

 

[KaldakurFarm]

Hatchlings with one-week olds is perfectly doable. Putting them with the six-week olds is not, as you've probably already figured out.

Until around four weeks, chicks aren't taking much notice of size and age differences or what chicks they're with. After that, they have formed their unit with their peers and new chicks are looked on as outsiders.

Thank you azygous, I appreciate your sharing your knowledge with me. I have no idea what I read (probably why I can't find it again) - but it makes me feel better to know someone with more experience than myself say's it's all good. Thank you!

 

[grammabonnie]

HELP PLEASE>>>NEED ADVICE.....Hi I have two chicks I put under our broody hen they were three days old then. (Now 3 wks). No problem. However, I had one egg that another hen abandoned, so we took that inside in a box with a light over it, and this little chick surprised us and hatched. It has been in lighted box for four days now. Eating ok. Today I put her? outside with the mother hen and her two older chicks and the little one seems scared to death and doesn't want to intermix with the others. Mother hen is a little confused but is very partial to the older two. (But, not hurting the new chick at all.) I took baby back in and put her in the box. Should I just put her back in in the coop with the mother and two babies? Or should I wait another couple days when she is a little bigger and try it again.? She doesn't seem to know when the other babies scoot under mom that she should too.

Or? I could take one of the 3 wk older babies in the house and put one of them in the box with her for a day and see if she gets used to that chick? Doesn't seem to know she's a chick. We have never hatched babies before, gave the rooster away, but "Wilma" our Welsummer is so darn broody. So now we have three babies two diff. ages. Help, want to do the right thing. gramma Bonnie

 

[azygous]

Your instincts are good. Give that idea a try - putting one of the two chicks with the new one.

Try rigging up a heating pad cave. Glance over the thread on this forum "Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder", and see how some of us have rigged it.

A heating pad, vs a heat lamp much more closely simulates a broody hen, so maybe, after the new chick spends a day and a night with another chick with it, you can put them both back under the broody hen, and the new chick might be more likely to understand the concept of snuggling under something warm.