Adding New Chickens to Flock

[thailand]

Hi All,

My 3 Brahma chicks are now 3 months old and as predicted by others on this forum I have ended up with 2 cockerels and just the 1 pullet.

I am now wanting to add another 3 or 4 pullets but am unsure of the best way to go about this. Is the age of the existing small flock a good age at which to add some newbies? I was thinking of buying 9-10 week old chicks if I can, so that the size difference isn't too great. Also by this age I am hoping that I now have a better idea of what to look for, as I want to be sure of purchasing pullets only

On a side note - all three had a bath today and really loved it!! They almost fell asleep in my arms during the process and are now warm, dry and sparkling clean. (Somehow they had managed to get poop all over their lovely white feathers).

Looking forward to everyone's advice.

Blessings

 

[MareeZoCool]

I prefer to introduce my newbies while the flock is free-ranging. Best thing is they be close in size & ages.

Bring the newbies out in a wire dog-crate, so everyone can see, not peck or flog! Then, bopen the door, once everyone calms down,

bring out some treats ( I toss raw oatmeal on the ground.)

 

[CathyM]

I had good luck in letting my two groups be near but not touching for at least a week -- I have a big brooder pen (actually a series of large boxes around a plastic-line, insulated concrete floor) and separated them with a panel of hardware cloth... they got used to each other and one day I took the separator away, and they managed to keep going with only minimal fuss... having about the same size does help! Good luck!

 

[10 point]

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[thailand]

Hi Maree, Cathy and 10 Point,

Thanks for your replies. One more question please - as the new chicks will be coming from the same farm as I bought the others from, do I still need to quarantine the newbies for any length of time, or can I just put them in the dog crate up against the existing chicks pen straight away and then after a week or so mingle them together?

Appreciate your advice.

Angela