Adding new hen in flock

[Mehroz Adnan]

I am from Pakistan.I bought three chicks from local birds market.According to my experience I supposed that I had two hens with a rooster.Things went on well.I reared all of them.I came to know that i had two roosters with a hen.So i went to market and bought another hen.She is not adult hen.I keep her in another cage inside the original coop so that they can see each other. It has been a month she has yet not been able to assimilate in them.I have tried several times but no result.I have also put her with them at night,the roosters seemed to accept her but the hen want to peck her even at night only with the help of smell.In the day when I put her with them,the roosters give her importance by doing chicken dance around her & trying to mate with her but cannot do so because she is not adult.But when the hen pecks her she makes to much noise & the males chase her & peck her until my interference.Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cackleberrycam]

Welcome to BYC! How old is the new bird? Keep the new bird away from the other hens and rooster until she is at least twelve weeks old. (If applicable.) Chickens younger than that are unable to defend themselves from older birds and can get hurt. Also, excessive chicken bulling can be caused by boredom. Do you let your chickens forage or have any chicken toys that could keep them busy?

 

[tcstoehr]

Adding a single hen into a flock is usually a problem. She might actually be killed. Or she might eventually get accepted. I don't know how control that. Perhaps when she is old enough she can enter the group and defend herself adequately. When adding new birds, I would always add at least two so that the two new birds can support each other. But you added just one and she is isolated. You might consider getting another young hen and trying to pair her with your other new bird and see if they get along. If that's too many chickens for you, I would also consider having a rooster for dinner. Two roosters in such a small flock is one too many.

 

[Amina]

Wait until she is as big as the hen before you try to add her to the flock, and then create lots of hiding places for her to get away. I have successfully added a single hen to a flock of four hens, but I created lots of hiding places by hanging an old tarp inside my run. My new hen would go to the other side of the tarp where the others couldn't see her, or she would hide under a corner of the tarp that was on the ground.

I also had to remove the worst bully from the flock for one week, and then put her back with them. When she returned, she was less interested in bullying the new hen.

 

[Mehroz Adnan]

I think she is old enough.She has started growing wattles & her comb is becoming red.I have no problem leaving her with roosters because they don`t cause any problem.The problem arises when the older hen pecks her because then she panics & makes enough noise so that the roosters consider her a threat & then all of them peck her.Moreover I have already decided To sell the younger rooster.