New Chickens and Free Ranging

This spring we got our first little flock of four hens, only to find out that one was actually a rooster. We returned him to the farm where we got him and swapped him for two, slightly younger, pullets. Our older hens are about 3 1/2 months old, the younger two about ten weeks old.

We followed the advice I found here and on other sites to gradually introduce the new birds to the old, but since our older birds free range during the day, they spent some time now and then checking out the newcomers here and there throughout the day but weren't constantly near them. We did this for a couple of weeks, and last night put the new birds into the coop after dark when the were all sleeping. When I let them out this morning, the new birds did not want to come out of the coop. When they finally did, an older bird chased and pecked them until they went back inside.

I've been keeping an eye on them today, and the older girls are ranging around the yard. When they get back to the run, where the food and water is, they eat, drink, and take turns showing the younger ones whose boss with some chasing and pecking. Then they leave, and the younger ones stay in the run. Or, if the younger ones have braved the yard outside the run, the older ones chase them and peck at them, then wander off. The five of them don't stay together at all.

Here are my questions which I am hoping those with more experience can answer:
1. Is it normal for the two new chickens to not follow the older ones around?
2. Will the five of them become one happy flock, or with they continue to avoid each other even after they stop squabbling over the pecking order?
3. How long will the older girls bully the new ones?
4. The younger ones haven't been using the same run/coop as the older ones (they had a small adjacent pen and spent the nights in a pet crate inside). Now that they are with the big girls, will they know to go there at bedtime, or should I confine them to the run for a couple of weeks? I thought they'd naturally flock together and do what the older birds do, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Thanks in advance!

New comers often stay where it is safe for a while, like the coop, then the run till they start to feel at home. That can be quick or long, but it always takes as long as it takes for them to be comfortable. Being one flock is also on their time some fit right in others go separate ways forever. As long as they aren't fighting all the time don't worry. The pecking order can just as well be termed the bully order. The higher rank will always bully a lower bird if it gets out of line. If the new girls turn the table and fight for the top then they will be the bullies. Once the order is established every one knows who not to push and when to wait their turn and a general peace will prevail. If they were sleeping in the coop at night in a crate then they should return to the coop at night. I would watch them at dusk to see how they handle it. If they don't return, you will just have to return them yourself.

Thanks for the response. They weren't sleeping in the coop, just penned next to it during the day. The crate wouldn't fit in the coop, so I brought it inside at night.

I decided to keep the new chickens in the run during the day for the next several days, giving the big girls their own food and water in the yard. This will give everyone more time to be acquainted and also help the younger ones learn where "home" is. My older hens have the bad habit (started by the troublesome bad influence of a rooster) of trying to roost on top of their run at night. They got so irritated with me for chucking them into the run that they didn't seem to notice the little ones in the coop and I didn't hear any squabbling when I locked them all up for the night.

I didn't want to risk the newer hens not returning because we have a big yard bordered by hedges (so hard to see birds roosting there) and adjacent to a large field. I often can't find my other hens during the day, and was afraid I wouldn't be able to find the littler ones if they didn't come back on their own. They spent a good part of the afternoon hunkered down amongst the tomato plants and it took me quite a while to find them!