a BIT worried with mixing my new birds

We just integrated 3 new 20 week old buff orpingtons with our other 11 20 week olds of other varieties (one rooster). They are so docile they would just run when any hen looked at them and hide their heads in the corner. We put them in a dog crate in the coop the first 2 nights. Then we let the original flock free-range during the first 2 days and kept the new ones in the fenced coop so they could get to know their home and still see the other chickens (when they were near the coop) and get a chance to try the roosts. When all locked in the coop in the evenings, the original flock would go get to bed on their indoor roosts and the new 3 would saty outside eating. Late at night we went out and found they had snuck into the coop and snuggled on the floor, so we picked them up and put them on the roosts with the other chickens. I think they stayed put until morning. Now they have been allowed to free-range together (4th day) and really the 3 try to keep to themselves and take off when the curious old flock comes near. The rooster runs back and forth keeping an eye on all of them though. Finally tonight we went to find only 2 of them on the floor - one had made it onto the roosts with the others on her own (the smallest most timid of them no less) - we added those two so they are all on the roosts again. Just a little jostling and we "pecked" on the one hen trying to interfere for them. And the last two days we have been home with them and made a point of whacking the offending hens with sticks since the new 3 are too timid to do anything but run. It seems to have helped. One hen clearly is in charge of the roosts and another is in charge of pecking the new hens, but no serious damage. Rooster seems to understand what is going on and leaves all alone.

 

There was a fair amount of bossiness and pecking when I integrated my chicks with the adults--probably a bit younger than they should have been, but I didn't have anywhere else to put them. They all learned to get along just fine, though, and we didn't have any injuries. That standing on the chicken's back and pulling head feathers thing is what roosters do when the mount chickens, so it may be a dominance thing. As long as the chicks don't loose a *lot* of feathers, and no one starts bleeding, they'll probably all be fine. You might want to be sure and let them out early so they aren't closed up together too long in the morning, but they're asleep now and unlikely to have problems while it's dark.

 

I too am working at incorporating hens. I have one 20+ week old Ameracauna that I am putting in with my 5 hens. They have free ranged together for months but always slept seperately. A couple of my alpha hens let her know who's in charge periodically.

In the mean time, I built a new coop and thought putting them all in at the same time might be good because it would be confusing and lesson the chance of them getting after the younger one.

I put them all together and it took 3 days for them to figure out the new roosts and nest boxes. My concern is my young ameracauna refuses to come down from the roost. The others go out into the run during the day and come in only to lay but the young one doesnt even get down.

Being concerned, I built a small shelf and put food and water within her reach...was that good or does that just give her a reason NOT to come down? Do I need to give them more time or should I take her down and put her out in the run? She went out once and they cornered her. They didn't do much damage she just hid under a feeder as best she could and they left her alone except to peck on her once in a while.

Am I just being impatient with giving them time to work things out?

Nate