2 new chickens

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ferocious

ferocious

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 14, 2013
12
0
22
Hi - I have 4 chickens - I just got two of them yesterday and was told to put them into the ccop at night after the others were asleep so they would be more easily integrated in the morning.

So this morning there was a lot of squeaking and crying for a long time, the 2 newbies went into the coop and have not come out all day. I began to worry and put some food and water in the coop - it is very hot here today (northern CA) and I think they must have been dehydrated. At first I hoped they would come out when they got thirsty or hungry.

We just moved and we just moved the coop to our new place day before yesterday - I think the ladder is a bit steeper than it was in the old spot because the cement posts it had been sitting on had sunk some. They will probably settle again here - esp. if it rains, but so far it's steeper.

The 2 older chickens go in and out easily. I was watching today and one of the newbies - Queen Anne or Queenie for short seemed to be trying to get down but seemed kind of trepidatious about it and off balance and she backed off. So I don't know if they are staying in there for fear of the other chickens or because they have not learned how to deal with the ladder yet.

Also, the other newbie - the one I call Floppy CombOver or just Floppy for short because of her floppy comb has a broken beak. When we purchased them I noticed that a bunch of the ones they were caged with had broken beaks as well. Is this a bad sign?

I had asked the woman at the feed store where I got them to give me one without a broken beak, but somehow I wound up with one that has it. Is this a calcium problem? I always make sure they have oyster shell available but this one is so new and hasn't been eating at my hose for long.

They are red hens with yellow feet and all of those at the feed store were the same kind. Another feed store has chickens of that breed and a lot of those have broken beaks also. All the chickens at both places were raised by the same person.

Anyway, can anyone give me insight into why these 2 newbies are not coming out and what I can do to lure them out?

Thanks so much for your help.

The ferciousDesigner
 
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Welcome to BYC!

New birds are going to be afraid of their surroundings for a while. But if it is hot in the coop, you do need to get them out. And definitely put water and food in there.

BUT....the idea that you can just put new birds in the coop at night as a way of integrating them does not work. This can cause big chaos and injured birds. Flocks are way too smart for this trick. You will need to keep these newbies in a cage or fenced off area but within the flock for several weeks. Everybody sees, nobody touches. This way the original flock can work out much of the pecking order from behind wire. Leave them caged for about 3 weeks. When mixing day comes, there should be little aggression. However always watch that first day and the rest of that week. And always intervene if it turns bloody.

As for the ones with broken beaks, get them on good feed. Oyster shell on the side and as long as they can still feed and eat, the beaks should grow out. If they are in really bad shape, you might post a pic in our emergency section for more help...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

Good luck and keep us posted!
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! TwoCrows gave you some good advice about integrating the new birds. Putting them in at night usually does not work with small flocks because it is so obvious to the old birds that there are new ones there. There is a good article in the Learning Center on adding new birds to your flock https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
The chickens with broken beaks may actually have been debeaked, it is often done in commercial flocks to help prevent cannibalism, the beaks will usually not grow back to normal. You may want to watch how they eat and give them deeper food bowls if needed, they usually have trouble picking up food that is in a shallow layer..
 

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