mixing 6 week old and 3 week old chicks ok??

[sdshoars]

i have two unknown breed (well ones a brahma) bantam chicks, which are around one week old. i will be receiving 3 buff orp chicks in 2 to 3 weeks, and i was wondering once the orps are around 3 weeks old, would it be ok to mix the two, or will i have to wait longer? i know that orps are really docile and i dont want them to get picked on too much. TIA.

 

[kelster6]

I am curious about this, too.
we have 10 one week old chicks now (buff orps, blk australorps and cochins). in about 2 to 3 weeks we have the opportunity to get chicks (easter eggers) from my son's kindergarten class. can we combine them?

 

[Shaun Hagan]

Seems like most folks wait till they are of a similar size to prevent issues.

 

[nccountrygirl]

I have a 9 week old and a 7 week old in together and the 9 week old keeps pecking the 7 week old. I need to put them in a bigger brooder I quess.

 

[crooked stripe]

I have 8 buff orps and one leghorn roo that I have to keep separate. The orps pick on the leghorn all the time. The size difference is considerable. I don't know if they well ever get along. John

 

[lemurchaser]

I had five 6 week olds and added 2 2.5wk olds. It took them a month to get along. I ended up making a hardware cloth circle in the coop with the big girls, and put a few little doors in it. The little girls could get out, but the big girls couldn't get in. It worked pretty well, although the big girls would squeeze in at night, scare the babies, who would be huddled in the corner of the coop freezing. They finally now tolerate each other, but they definately live as two separate flocks. They will all sleep together though.

 

[crooked stripe]

I didn't realize that introducing one chick to another to be so tough. I have met folks before I had this problem that just through their birds together and they end up getting along. The guy down the road has chickens in various stages of development that his chickens hatch. When I am there I have never seen a fight. Maybe they fight till they either get along or die. I sure wish someone had a fix to this problem. It has to be easier than I am seeing. John