Adding to a flock

[claire73]

I have just added two new girls to the three I already have...and understandably, my older girls (by about 4-6 weeks) are picking on the new ones. We only introduced them yesterday and have resorted to putting them in separate runs today so that they can see each other without pecking!
I understand they will need time to adjust, but us it best to keep them behind separate fences for now, or just put them together and let them get on with it?
Thanks for any advice.

 

[choox]

im a novice chook keeper,,
but when i introduced my new 2, who are younger than the older ones, i kept them separate for about 14 days (where they could still see each other) and then let them all free range together for a few days before moving them into the main run.
there was still some pecking going on for a couple of weeks after this, but nothing too bad. i made sure there were places to hide in the main run if needed, but the little ones are so quick they got out of the way anyhow...
now they are all getting along fine.

 

[Mahlzeit]

Are they similar in size? You usually want to wait until all the birds are close to equal in size. You can leave them in separate runs for a while but no matter if you do or don't there will always be some pecking as they need to establish their pecking order. I usually like to add new birds at night so this way they wake up together. It seems like it creates less pecking. Also make sure there are plenty of spots for the new birds to hide from the others if it is too much for them.

 

[donrae]

If they're that close, I would just go ahead and put them together and let them figure it out. I've lost 2 month old birds putting them in with big girls, but never had a bird injured when reasonably close in age. The young un's life is miserable for a while, but that's going to happen anyway.

 

[claire73]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Much appreciated. I had them separated for a bit today but when I looked out, one of my older girls was in with the two new ones anyway!

 

[claire73]

By the way, my older girls are 22 weeks and the younger 2 are 14 weeks. They are a little but smaller but there's not a lot in it.