Flock integration

[Possum-Pie]

9 weeks ago we got 4 hens (about 2 years old) from someone who was giving up her chickens. I know nothing about their lives before they came to us except that there were 16 total in that flock. They have not integrated at all with my established flock (2 hens and a rooster about 2 yrs old). They stay in the coop when the rest go outside, If I put everyone out and close the coop door the new hens congregate together way at the end of the run. Inside the coop, the new hens sleep on the lowest roost or in nesting boxes (I want to eventually stop that behavior). The new hens are pushed out of the way when interacting with the established hens, but not really bullied. If I give treats, the new hens get none b/c the old flock keeps them away. I was hoping that by this time they would integrate. In your experience, how long does that take? I definitely don't want the new hens to spend their whole lives in the coop but also don't want to throw them outside each day and close the coop door...To compound the problem, two of the four new hens are bullied by the other 2. The new EE and the SLW generally sit together squeezed into one nesting box if everyone else is in the coop.

 

[Evadig]

Hi! Did you do a see-but-don’t-touch integration for at least a couple weeks? How big is the coop and run? What breeds make up your existing flock? I hope you get this situation resolved soon, it’s frustrating when some birds just won’t get along !

 

[rosemarythyme]

Photos and measurements of your coop and run?

New birds being on low roost is fine. But I would block the nest boxes at dusk (and if there's active layers, unblock once it's dark) to force them to roost.

 

[Possum-Pie]

Original flock: Rooster (laid back, gets along with everyone else), Bard Rock (bully and top hen in pecking order), and Austrolorp (not a bully but doesn't run from Bard. I've considered getting rid of the Bard Rock, she is a bully, chases everyone away from any treats like occasional handfuls of cracked corn thrown out into the run. She spends her time chasing off the others from the corn, eating some until they find more, then chasing them from that corn. She won't stay in one spot and eat, but constantly pushes the others away. She hasn't hurt any of the others though, so I've been slow to cull her.

New flock: Austrolorp (seems most integrated with original flock), Bard Rock (top pecking order of new flock, but chased by old flock), Easter Egger and silver laced Wyandotte (these two have nothing to do with any other hens, bottom of pecking order, won't leave the coop and are inseparable buddies. The new Austrolorp and new Bard go outside when the coop door opens, but generally stay to themselves away from old flock.

I didn't do a slow introduction, too many new hens. There was no fighting though.

Coop is 12' X 16' (it was an old shed that I rebuilt as a coop. They have two roosts about 4' long each, one is a foot higher than the other—plenty of room inside coop.

Run is about 12' X 80', Alas, I don't have many toys in it, just a perch which the rooster loves to sit on and oversee the rest, and an old plastic bench which the hens sometimes perch on.

I'm unsure about blocking nesting boxes as the SLW has never been up on the roost either during the day or at night and I don't want to take away her only "safe space"

 

[aart]

You have plenty of space and it sounds like no one is being bloodied.
Might want to put up another roost and block the nests an hour before roost time, unblock after dark when you lock up.
multiple fed and water stations, out of sight from each other.
Spread the treats far and wide.
Clutter the run:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Possum-Pie]

Thanks, aart. I definitely need to clutter the run more, they mostly wander around and look for bugs. I put the bench on its side halfway down the run so the new hens could wander down there and be out of sight of the rest.
No, there is no serious fighting. The lower hens generally scamper out of the way if they see the dominant ones coming too near. When I pick up the EE and SLW and put them outside, I close the coop door so they can't sneak back in. They generally wander down to the far end of the run and will look for bugs. When I do open the coop door to allow them all back in for the evening, the EE and SLW will hang back until the others are in b/c they don't want to walk past them. I'm so glad they at least have each other.