Hello from Wilmington NC.

[here2stay07]

So I am fairly new to this whole chicken thing.

We got 12 straight run chicks when they were a day old back in April. All but 2 were roo's. So now we are left with 2 hens and 2 roos.

The hens are an americauna (easter egger) and a buff orpington.

The roo's are a HUGE beautiful Rhode island red and the other is another Buff. Buff is the beta and Big Red is our alpha.

They all get along great. And our easter egger, Brownie, just started laying this past saturday! So exciting! Blondie is yet to stay laying.

We just got two new hens, both Golden Comets. They are either laying or close to laying. My kids and I are excited to see how everyone does with the newest additions to the flock.

Any advice, tips, tricks or anything is appreciated. =]

-Jessica


These are out base 4 flock. Top left to right.
Brownie. Blondie
Buff. Big Red

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi Jessica and welcome to BYC and the wonderful world of chicken-keeping. Great first egg - congrats! Here's a few links that may help with integrating your newbies:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1015820/reintegration-by-supervised-visits#post_15742910

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1098683/introducing-new-chickens-to-old-flock#post_16895615

My advice would be to pick what you think may work for you (from all of the links) and devise your own plan.

All the best
CT

 

[here2stay07]

we are trying the "see but dont touch" method i guess. May try supervised playdates, but we will see.

here is one of our newbies



and this is out ghetto setup. but hey, it should work. =] *fingers crossed*

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Jessica, and . Pleased you joined our community. CTKen gave you some great links so I'll just say best wishes and good luck! Great pics by the way!

 

[drumstick diva]

Nice to meet you Jessica,

 

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

Glad you got some new hens. It's always best to have at least five and preferably eight to ten hens per cock to prevent overmating.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[CuzChickens]

Hi there, welcome to Backyard chickens!! I do not live in Wilmington, but I will be down there for the fair the end of October! Congratulations on you first egg, I know that is so exciting! You might like to join the NC state thread! If you are interested, somebody near Greensboro is giving away a bunch of chickens, more info on the thread. You got some great links on integrating the new peeps! I do agree with Queen Misha, one rooster to every 5-8 roosters is a good ratio, so you might have one too many roosters, you will end up with some battered hens. But good luck with them and I hope you enjoy BYC!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/91762/north-carolina/40890#post_17578513

 

[here2stay07]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. =]


Aw, thats sad about the Roo's. I love them both so much!

Big Red is definitely the Alpha. He makes sure the girls eat and that Buff doesnt bother them. Though when they are out in the yard (not closed up in the coop), the 2 guys fight a little and I have to break it up. it's weird that they are more volatile with more space, you'd think it would be the other way around.

Random thought, do you think as im trying to integrate the new hens in, that if i rearranged the coop and took out Buff, leaving only the Alpha and 4 hens, that might make the transition easier? I read somewhere that if you rearrange things, it might distract from the newbies?