2/10 UPDATE on intro: THEY'RE FINALLY FRIENDS!

[pawsplus]

UPDATE: So when I got home last night it was after dark and all 3 girls were up in the roosts. Svetlana was on the 3rd from the bottom and Olivia and Clarice were on the 2nd from the bottom. No one had injuries, so I figured things were going about as well as can be expected.

When I went out this a.m. to open the coop door to the run, Clarice was on the 4th roost from the bottom (on the roost ladder) and Svetlana was way up on the very top roosts near the ceiling (where neither of the others have yet ventured). So I assume Clarice pushed her up there. Well, that's Clarice.

I suspect that Svetlana hasn't yet left the coop. So I made sure to leave her some snacks indoors when I put out the food for the other girls outside. Clarice is still PO'd at me -- she was crowing and chattering at me instead of eating. But I think it's going o.k. At least Svetlana seems to be keeping out of Clarice's way, which is the smart thing to do.

Svetlana had lots of handling and attention when she was younger, unlike my other 2, so she lets me pet her, which is nice. I can pet Olivia if she's on the roost, but Clarice freaks out. She was a wild chicken before she came to me as a stray, and human beings are for one thing ONLY -- food delivery, period. I love her anyway, of course.

 

[pawsplus]

12/31 UPDATE ON INTRO: OK, so no blood has been spilled (yay!). But I'm pretty sure that Svetlana is spending about 99% of her time way up on the top roost. I.e., she was there yesterday a.m. when I went out to open the coop door into the run, and she was there when I returned last night.

This a.m. I opened the door, tossed Olivia and Clarice out, and then closed it. Then I lifted Svetlana down (and cuddled her for a few minutes -- she clucked softly the whole time with quiet little complaints

), and then left her with food and water for an hour before I left. I had to open the door back up when I left b/c it was cold and windy out. Olivia came right back in and walked towards Svetlana, who INSTANTLY jumped up on the low roost and started back up to the high one.

Suggestions? I am worried that she's not going to eat/drink enough if I can only be SURE she will stay on the ground for 1 hour a day. Tomorrow I'm off work so can do it for a little longer.

My coop is tall and skinny, so the floor space (4x8) isn't that much to provide areas for them to get away from each other, but apparently Svetlana feels safe up high. I just don't want her to get dehydrated while they sort this all out.

 

[pawsplus]

1/8/09 UPDATE: OK - So things b/t Clarice and Olivia (old chickens) and Svetlana (new chicken) have settled down to an armed truce: At night, they all sleep relatively peacefully in the coop, but during the day, only Clarice and Olivia come out into the run. Svetlana NEVER does. Took her out there once and the others weren't TERRIBLY mean to her -- but she ran back in and wouldn't come out again.

So . . . Clarice is the problem here. She is VERY butch (she crows, and has always been the Head Chicken) and Olivia does whatever she says. So today (it was (finally!!!) a nice day) I picked up Olivia and put her through the pop hole into the run, and then closed it up. I picked up Svetlana and carried her around to the person gate and took her in. She and Olivia carried on for a while mildly, but things seemed calm by the time I left for work.

This leaves Clarice stuck inside today.

Obviously both groups have food and water.

My plan is to break up the Clarice/Olivia alliance and get Olivia to buddy up with Svetlana. Also to force Svetlana to get used to being in the run so she feels she CAN be there (rather than having 2 separate territories).

Does all this sound good? Other suggestions? They will, of course, all be inside during the nighttime, and if it rains again I'll have to leave the pophole open during the day. But otherwise -- how long should I do this for? And what is the next step? Clarice and Svetlana together?? Just add Clarice in w/ Oliva and Svetlana?

Thanks!!!

 

[chookchick]

It takes time to become an integrated flock. If they are not fighting and drawing blood, you need to let them work it out! That means not separating them, not pairing them off in little groups, not closing popholes! They will work it out eventually, if no one gets hurt, and it sounds like that is not going to happen. Just make sure that all have access to food and water, maybe make a shelf for svetlana if you are worried about her. No one chicken is a problem, they are just being chickens.

 

[pawsplus]

I get that, but Svetlana has been with me for WEEKS and she's never ventured out of the coop. I worry that she's rarely coming off the roosts at all. She must be or she'd be sick by now, but she's not doing it often.

 

[carousel]

I think you are just going to have to give it more time make sure she is getting food and water but nothing else you can do.
Only once have I tried to introduce a single chicken to my folk. I had several other 4 month old pullets and it worked out. But she is STILL a bit of a loner. In the future I will always get 2 or more.
When selling some of the pullets I grow out, I never sell them in less than pairs for the same reason.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I wouldn't keep messing with them. The most critical thing is that no one is being injured, which can lead to a killing. The next most important thing is that they are all eating and drinking, so they don't get sick. After that, I think it's better to just leave them alone.

They're in a stage now, where they need to get used to the routine of seeing each other every day. The longer they're together, the more normal it will seem. They also have to get used to the new pecking order and feel comfortable with it. Moving them around is counterproductive for all that. Their brains, even more than ours, are wired to notice new things and ignore things that have been there for awhile. Like new habits in people, this takes a little time. For example, they used to say you have to do something every day for a month, before it becomes a habit. It takes time to repattern a brain.

Your first two chickens are friends and your new chicken may be a bit of a third wheel forever. Or they may become more friendly to her, later. You'll just have to wait and see what happens. It's too bad she wasn't adopted with a friend.

 

[pawsplus]

UPDATE: Olivia and Svetlana are interacting very nicely since they've been tossed out together into the run every day. Clarice is stuck in the coop, but that won't kill her for a few days. At night, they all seem to share the roosts nicely (I've seen Clarice on the same roost as Svetlana, and Svetlana w/ Olivia, etc.).

Since the weather is nice right now, I'm gonna keep doing this for a few days so Svetlana feels comfy being outside. Then I'll try just leaving the door open and see if she'll go out there w/ Clarice or not.

Anyway, this seems a good way to do it and Svetlana is not stressed out by it (and I'm sure she's eating this way).

I guess I might have gotten 2 if I'd realized, but my run is only 10x10 and I thought 4 would be too many.

 

[pawsplus]

UPDATE: We have FRIENDSHIP! Or at least tolerance.

After weeks of refusing to go out into the run (unless I put her there and locked her out there w/ Olivia), I assume b/c she was afraid of Chief Chicken Clarice, Svetlana is now INTEGRATED!

Yes, actual photos of ALL THREE GIRLS together outside! Pardon quality -- this was relatively early and so had to use the flash. Plus, they were moving around a lot. In the second one, Clarice is sort of behind the post.

They've been roosting together, all cuddly, for WEEKS, but for whatever complex chicken reasons, Svetlana was staying indoors during the day (as far as I could tell). Now, she seems to be one of the girls at least. Yay!

Clarice is hazing her a bit, but just to make sure she'll run when Clarice says to. It looked pretty mild.

Here's one more of her and Olivia.

 

[sweet_peeps]

I'm glad it's starting to work out.

I had the same problem when I introduced 2 new hens half the age of my existing hens.

But I really had a problem when I introduced a young rooster.

My older hens hated him. Pecked at him, chased him away from the food, etc.

Now nearly 4 weeks later he still gets chased off occasionally but they seem to be together more.

Who knew there was such a complex "pecking" order?

On another note, your Olivia is beautiful. What else is in her besides Buff Orp, do you know?