Mixing 3 week old chicks with 3 day old chicks

[Justicedog]

I have 3 - 3 week old chicks (cream legbar, blue copper marans and a splash australorp), along with 1- 4 week chick (white leghorn) in a brooder. The feed store has a 3 day (maybe 1 week old) olive egger I wanted, along with ONE other friend - (americauna or chocolate laced orp, or another white leghorn). If I brooded those two separately for a week, could I add them to the other chicks after that? Or is this a recipe for disaster?

Then in 3-4 weeks I'd be putting them all into a divided coop with my 3 year old hens for several weeks of look but don't kill the new ones, probably not mixing the 3 year olds until the littlist chicks were ready to mix.

Or, am I better of not trying to bring the new babies in with the older chicks?

 

[Debbie292d]

I have mixed younger chicks as far apart as 6 weeks with no issues. I wouldn't try it any younger than 1 week old though so they have stronger legs and can get out of the way.

In my experience with silkies, younger ones can't be put with adults until they are about the same size and that takes 5 months but other breeds don't take as long. We have a few growout pens with hutches/dog houses in them.