Adding 1 hen

[tav1]

I have 3 red comets and thinking of adding 1 more......my wife want a hen that lays a colored egg. Any problem with them all getting along. ..

 

[bigt447]

Very likely the new one won't be readily accepted. The others will immediately show her who's boss. May be real rough for the new one. Hope it works and they decide to get along.

 

[azygous]

Here's a neat trick to successfully adding a single new hen to a flock. Yes, it's true the flock likely will treat the new hen as an intruder, but you can ease things by taking your most easy-going hen in your flock and putting her with the new hen, letting the two of them form a relationship.

If you have a dog crate that is large enough for the two hens to move around but still be forced to share each other's space, they will likely bond. Give them a few days together and then move the crate into the pen with the other two hens. Let everyone get acquainted for a few hours before you let the two new best friends out with the others.

The objective is for the new hen to gain self confidence from her new bond, and the others will be more likely to accept her when she's introduced with the hen they already know. This should work no matter how many are in the flock.

 

[bigt447]

Agree with azygous....sounds like a good plan.

 

[tav1]

I hear ya.....but don't have to really do all that.
I do have run space...just added another run section . would the odds be better if i added 2 ( from the same flock). My wife really wants colored eggs....

 

[MeepBeep]

It's nice if you are able to give them face to face time buy with a fence between them for a few days, but if you don't have that option I have found the best way is to simply place the new one on the roost next to the others after they all go to sleep, come morning they notice the new bird but are more busy doing their normal morning business to devote much time to pecking order... Of course that is not to say the newbie doesn't get harassed but it's nothing beyond normal pecking order establishment... It also helps greatly if you have amble coop space so that they can keep their distance...

And yes I would say it's best to add 2 or more new birds at a time that already know each other as they will bond and form their own mini flock initially until they get accepted fully... I have seen these mini internal flocks bond and stay segregated for months before they fully integrate...

This is my in coop brooder setup, the birds stay in the big cage until they are about 1/2 grown, then the door is left open one night and they join the flock come morning, and for some silly reason my peafowl seem to always take over the cage as soon as the chicks leave it, nothing like finding a half dozen fully grown pea fowl packing in the cage the next day...

 

[tav1]

2 of the 3 loving leaves