Adding new birds?

[Jonathan w]

my recomendation would be to get day old chicks brood them, them when they are feathered out slowly introduce them to your otherss perhaps build or by a small coop or rabbit hutch and get temporary fencing, chicken wire or the like, and let them go like that for a month or so and then let them all free range together evenutaully th new ones will move into the chicken house and you will have minimal issues.
and you avoid contaiminating your flock and killing everyone or having to do a quarentine period... I have intruduced new birds in 3 times all 3 times I could understand how my birds got sick on the brink of death I had to medicate the whole 9 yards, then i did it the way i explained and no issues,,, or you could wait for one to go broody and then get a fertile eggs, you then run the chance of getting roosters.

 

[Dazza]

We have two 8-wk old birds that we got at about 1 week old. One is a barred rock rooster and the other is a unkown pullet. They're absolutely inseperable and never seem to be more than 2-3 feet from each other even when they free range in the yard. But since we can't keep the rooster, we knew we would need another pullet and now seemed like possibly a good age. I found one on CL that's 8 weeks old (a bit smaller than ours though) and brought her home. I've read up on the 'playpen method' and other ideas but it doesn't seem physically possible given our coop, which is an off-the-shelf unit with a layout that unfortunately won't allow for seperating them. Our birds birds sleep in there and spend most of their days in the run, but get to free range for 3-4 hours a day in the yard. What's the best way to integrate younger birds of the same age if you don't have a large coop or pen?

 

[outdoorschick91]

I am new to raising chickens and have 4 hens. They all live in confinement due to the busy road new our house and the constant problems from hawks and foxes. But it is a nice big coop and run that my boyfriend and I built so they are quite happy. When I introduced my 4th hen she was much smaller than the others but old enough to be outside. Problem was, every time I tried to put her in the coop my red hen "Red" would viciously attack her. So I decided to separate the 2 for a bit so they would get used to eachother's presence. I made a small wire pen for the little one so she could be be out with them but still be safe from Red. 2-3 more weeks go by, tried another introduction, the SAME thing happened again. Now I am getting worried that they would never get along.

Someone had told me to try to slip the little one in the coop at night and in the morning Red wouldn't even notice the addition. It is a good thing I asked the experts on here 1st because a few people told me that it ended very badly for them doing it that way. Then a few people told me to take Red out of the coop and put the little one in. This way the little one would establish a flock with the other 2 and when Red was reintroduced after a week or so, SHE would be the newbie. So I tried that, today marks a week and a half from when I removed Red, so I took her and plopped her right in the coop. At 1st she was right back to attacking the other birds and I am going to myself "Oh no! This was a mistake! I might have to get rid of Red even though she is so sweet to me" I stood there with them for about 20 minutes breaking up the occasional fight/peck attacks. But after a little bit it doed down and before I knew it they were acting as if they had been with eachother forever. So now I have a happy flock thanks to the helpful and knowledgeable people here on BYC. I hope you have found the help you need and have many happy hens!!!!

 

[newbie32]

We have two 8-wk old birds that we got at about 1 week old. One is a barred rock rooster and the other is a unkown pullet. They're absolutely inseperable and never seem to be more than 2-3 feet from each other even when they free range in the yard. But since we can't keep the rooster, we knew we would need another pullet and now seemed like possibly a good age. I found one on CL that's 8 weeks old (a bit smaller than ours though) and brought her home. I've read up on the 'playpen method' and other ideas but it doesn't seem physically possible given our coop, which is an off-the-shelf unit with a layout that unfortunately won't allow for seperating them. Our birds birds sleep in there and spend most of their days in the run, but get to free range for 3-4 hours a day in the yard. What's the best way to integrate younger birds of the same age if you don't have a large coop or pen?

If this is the situation then how do you plan on quarantining it?

 

[cstronks]

When I got my birds, I was originally supposed to buy 7 and not 5...however nerves and the thought that two less birds would be a lot less work led me to get only 5...looking back, I wish I had grabbed the other 2. Sure it would have been more work, but the extra wouldn't have been noticeable. I still would have done the same weekly maintenance that I do now, and would have had more eggs! I think the biggest things with adding birds is having the courage. It is a nerve-racking thought that you may buy a bird, ease him/her into the flock, and then go to find the bird pecked to death. However, I have read a ton of great information on this thread, and I think that next spring I am going to give it a shot.

 

[Dazza]

If this is the situation then how do you plan on quarantining it?

At this point I'm not able to.

 

[jak2002003]

At this point I'm not able to.

Then you run the risk of the new bird giving disease to you others. You may loose all your chickens to disease.

Are you sure you have no space at all just to have a dog crate for the new one away from the rest for 2 weeks?

Its up to you, but just think how you will feel if all you birds get sick or die.

Also think how you will feel if you new chicken gets attacked seriously injured or killed after you put it in with you other birds.

 

[newbie32]

Then you run the risk of the new bird giving disease to you others. You may loose all your chickens to disease.

Are you sure you have no space at all just to have a dog crate for the new one away from the rest for 2 weeks?

Its up to you, but just think how you will feel if all you birds get sick or die.

Also think how you will feel if you new chicken gets attacked seriously injured or killed after you put it in with you other birds.

Yeah I agree. And from the experts on here

they say to keep them separate for 4 weeks. I would try to get as close to that time as possible. I plan on using my plastic brooder as my quarantine pen as long as I can-until they get too big

 

[Homestead girl]

When I first got into chickens this past may 2013 , I purchased 6 buff orpington , 6 black jersey giants, 6 Golden laced Wyandotte.. They are all two weeks apart in age so they were put into the coop at two week intervals. I found that the first group that was in the coop ran the roost . Each group I put in after them went through the chicken welcome wagon. A lot of chasing and pecking until the pecking order was established.
Then my neighbor came to me offering me 13 EE, cause he hatched to many. So I had to keep them in the house for four weeks before I could put them outside.
When I was able to put them in the coop the pecking order had already been established and there was peace in the coop.
So I put them in a huge wire dog kennel that I use for my German Shepherd . They stayed in the dog kennel inside the coop for another 3 weeks before they were let out into the coop. This way the other chickens had a chance to see them everyday all day and get used to them being in the coop.
I opened the door to the kennel and out they came. The welcome wagon was there to greet them , and the pecking order began. It lasted for several weeks. Nothing drastic happened to the new chicks , just nature taking it's course.
The only problem that I have had with my chickens is that when the EE started getting older they started fighting between themselves. Because I had nine roosters out of the 13 EE I purchased from my neighbor. That ended in a bloody butt once a week from one of them. But we are past all that now also.
Life is good in the coop. Peace , and crowing and eggs.

Good luck.

 

[The Mother Hen]

You need to keep the chickens in a different area of the coop, and be sure that the old hens can see the new ones. If you can add some wiring lengthwise down the coop so you can separate your old flock and new flock v(and so you can still walk into the coop). It would be wise to add the new hens at night when your older girls are sleeping, that way they wake up to new faces. To prevent picking, pecking and bullying, you can give your girls treats so they would be more interested it than the new birds. For about 10 days or more your hens need to adjust to the knew recruits, as with ANY flock you add. Hens in the same clutch know who is on the highest ranking part of the pecking order, and in the lower rank. When you add new hens the pecking order goes askew, and so the hens need to figure out who goes where and the old girls will need to get used to the new ones. Also, if you do not have enough room for all of your hens, expand your coop.