How to get established flock to accept newbies.

[Kathy Coan]

I have 3 golden sexlink girls from last year. They keep herding my new chickens into a corner and won't let them eat or drink. I kept them separated but next to each other for over a month. I understand pecking order but this seems to be extreme. I let the sexlinks out for over 4 hours a day to run in the yard. This gives the new flock a chance to get water and food. When I bring the sexlinks ( or what I call them Atila the hens) back in, they again herd the new flock into a corner. I do put up a barrier between the two flocks at night but really need everyone to get along. I have a limited coop area. I need the whole coop for everyone. I have been trying to incorporate the two flocks for over a week. Any suggestions are welcomed.

 

[mydaisy]

It sounds to me that you are doing all the right things by introducing them with the "see no touch" introduction for a few weeks. Do you have multiple water and food stations? If not, you might try that so the newbies have options for food and don't get bullied from just one area. Just make sure they have enough room in the run area to get away if need be. How old are are your new ones? Once they get full grown they can defend themselves better.

 

[Kathy Coan]

It sounds to me that you are doing all the right things by introducing them with the "see no touch" introduction for a few weeks. Do you have multiple water and food stations? If not, you might try that so the newbies have options for food and don't get bullied from just one area. Just make sure they have enough room in the run area to get away if need be. How are are your new ones? Once they get full grown they can defend themselves better.

I do have separated food and water stations but the older hens patrol all the stations. The new chickens are 2 months old but are twice as big as the sexlink hens. These seem to be mutant chickens. I have 8 pullets and 2 roosters. The roosters were crowing at a little over a month.

 

[mydaisy]

I do have separated food and water stations but the older hens patrol all the stations. The new chickens are 2 months old but are twice as big as the sexlink hens. These seem to be mutant chickens. I have 8 pullets and 2 roosters. The roosters were crowing at a little over a month.

What kind of chickens are the newbies? With them being so big and "mutant" I wonder if they are meat chickens? They are an easier target for sure....

 

[Kathy Coan]

What kind of chickens are the newbies? With them being so big and "mutant" I wonder if they are meat chickens? They are an easier target for sure....

Well I have asked in BYC earlier today. We are in agreement that they are some type of dual purpose breed. I thought I was buying Barred Rocks but now I don't know what I have. They will be 3 months old May 17, 2023.

 

[mydaisy]

Well I have asked in BYC earlier today. We are in agreement that they are some type of dual purpose breed. I thought I was buying Barred Rocks but now I don't know what I have. They will be 3 months old May 17, 2023.

Yes, they look to be some type of mix and yes, you have at least 2 cockerels in there, maybe more. Well they are pretty!
I hope others can give better advice, but I have introduced my pullets/cockerels as early as 3 weeks old and usually have fully integrated by 6-7 weeks old by keeping them in the same area, just separated where they can hear, see and smell each other for a couple weeks. There is always a pecking order, but they work it out without extreme bullying - just a little bit of squabbling at first.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Can you take some photos of your set up from further back? Multiple food stations are great, but there needs to be clutter breaking up line of sight so bully birds can't easily see that there's other birds at the other stations: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

 

[Kathy Coan]

Sure. We have 45 square feet. One of the feed stations is close to the house where they go up to hide. Not visible in this shot but it is to the right.

 

[Kathy Coan]

Sure. We have 45 square feet. One of the feed stations is close to the house where they go up to hide. Not visible in this shot but it is to the right.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Sure. We have 45 square feet. One of the feed stations is close to the house where they go up to hide. Not visible in this shot but it is to the right.

45 sq ft total, or 45 in coop, or 45 in run...?

How many birds total?

Just right off the bat, I'm going to assume the issue is overcrowding, but I'll wait for further info to assess.