Combining 2 Flocks

[HuntingChick14]

Hi everyone! So I am buying my first house and the home owners have let us keep some of their chickens! I picked out maybe 4 Olive Egger hens, a bantam Porcelain d'Uccle rooster, a cream legbar rooster, another bantam rooster (can't remember breed), a couple of Welsummer hens, and a pair of ducks! These chickens are used to being free-ranged, but my current flock of 4 hens has never been free-ranged. How should I introduce the 2 flocks, and how should I go about introducing my girls to free-ranging?

 

[Mrs. K]

Well, I am betting that you have been out to see these chickens, and probably took care of your own. So I am thinking quarantine is already broken. Mixing strange birds is a stressor that can expose birds from either flock to strange germs. A real risk.

Is there a run at all in the new place? If not, I would let the established flock out, and give the coop a good broom-ming out, then lock the new birds in. I would set up a few hideouts. And I might, tape some cardboard to the ceiling/wall, so that it hangs down and divides the roosts, so that birds on one side can't see birds on the other.

Near dark, I would let the established flock in, and get down there early in the morning. Rinse, repeat. By the third day, I would leave the door open, so that your birds can explore the outdoors on their terms. Again some strategic hideouts, set up can really help. I would not worry about them returning to the coop, but you might be down there towards dark to make sure they get in. You might loose some as they are not experienced with free ranging, and will be easy prey.

I am assuming that the birds are close to the same size. There might be a couple really mean birds, if so, lock them up for a day or two in a dog crate then try again.

Good luck, letting them work it out is best, but not if there is blood. In the summer, a good squirt gun can break thing up, but a little too cold for that now.

Mrs K

 

[HuntingChick14]

They do have a makeshift run at the moment, but it isn’t attached to the coop, so I’ll have to do a little construction. I don’t have time every morning to herd them into the run! I’m planning on bringing my coop with me too, so I could kind of separate them that way as well. Should I put my chickens’ coop inside the enclosed area of the established flock for a day or so? That way they can get used to the sight of each other safely through a fence? Thank you!

 

[aart]

I’m planning on bringing my coop with me too, so I could kind of separate them that way as well.

Might want to keep them separate like this all winter.

Should I put my chickens’ coop inside the enclosed area of the established flock for a day or so?

Maybe.....how big is your coop and run, and the 'new' coop and run.
See no touch acclimation takes more than 'a day or so'.


Here's some things to think about....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

 

[Fairview01]

Because i show exhibition poultry i have several breeding pens hence several flocks. I frequently rotate a few hens to different pens. I just drop them in the pen and go in the house. I let them work things out. Had some feathers pulled and a lot of squaking. By the next day they were just fine. No one ever ended up dead but then again i was moving hens.

Relocating or combining strange roosters to one flock is not the same. They will fight until the looser gets flipped on his back and dies of suffocation.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If the resident flock is laying in the nests I would not lock them out of the coop and force them to find a new place to lay. Why teach them a bad habit.

I personally would not worry about quarantine in this situation. If the resident flock has anything it is pretty much in the ground and in the air. Your current flock will be exposed to it even if you wipe out the resident flock, not much you can do about that. Your current flock might pose some risk to the resident flock but quarantine won't show that. Quarantine is a powerful tool in some circumstances but I don't see that it will help you much here.

You have four hens, no roosters. The resident flock has several roosters that now get along as long as they free range. I would not worry about multiple roosters unless you lock them up in a small area instead of letting them free range. If you lock them in a small space that might change.

If you lock your four hens into a space for a few days when they get there, that is probably where they will want to sleep, at least for a while. If they are laying that's where they will make their nest. If you do go that route I'd probably try to lock them in a pen in the coop if that is feasible. You can try locking them in your small coop in the run if you want. They might transition to the main coop when you let them out for sleeping and laying or they may want to stay in that small coop. You can train them to transition to sleeping in the main coop later fairly easily. Transitioning the egg laying might be a bit more challenging but it can be done.

There is nothing wrong with containing them in the main coop or in your small coop for a while. That will teach them that it is home. The way Dad would have done that was to just turn the hens loose with the flock when they go there. He free ranged a flock like the place you are buying currently does. When h added new chickens he just took them to the hen house during the day and turned them loose. They took care of things themselves. One risk of doing that is that you don't know where they will try to sleep that night. Usually they would follow the others into the hen house. There is more risk in doing it this way but it almost always worked.

As you will be moving you will probably be busy. One big consideration for me would be what is more convenient for me. I think either way the chickens will be OK.