Adding to my flock-Need Advice

[GreenLivingNC]

Hello,

I started keeping chickens in February with three 1.5 year old chickens from the same flock. We lost one a couple of months ago so today we went to replace it and ended up with three from another flock. They are about the same age as the others I already have.

Right now I have the new chickens in the coop and my old chickens in the run, with the coop inaccessible to them because the news ones were understandably freaking out a little when we took them out of the box. Should I keep them separate or just let them start to mingle? What's the best way to go about this? Thanks!

 

[PD-Riverman]

First if it was me, I would take the new ones and quarantine them as far away from the others as possible---maybe a month to make sure there is NO problems. Then I would put them together at night in the same coop/roost and watch them the next morning to see how they are doing. If they are good----Good. If they are fighting then I would separate--put the older in a wire dog kennel or something similar where they can see each other but not get together. Putting the old in the cage instead of the young kinda takes the coop ownership away from them so when you do put them back together it might go smoother.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!

Integration Basics:

It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

This used to be a better search, new format has reduced it's efficacy, but still:
Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading, BUT some info is outdated IMO:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

I would take the new ones and quarantine them as far away from the others as possible---maybe a month to make sure there is NO problems.

Me too, but...boats sailed on that.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Me too, but...boats sailed on that.

Yep, after you jump off the bridge into the water---you can not say Wooo and reverse the jump and be dry---the "milk is spilt".

 

[Ridgerunner]

First, lets talk about quarantine. Chickens, just like any other animal, can transmit diseases or parasites to each other, if they have a disease or are infested with parasites to start with. If they don't then they obviously can't. It's also possible that a flock can develop flock immunities to certain diseases or even parasites. They carry the disease or parasite and can transmit it to another chicken but don't show any symptoms or even have any effects themselves. It could be your flock that infects or infests the newcomers just as much as the new ones poses a danger to yours. The parasitic bug that causes Cocci is a good example of something the flock will develop an immunity to but there are others.

Quarantine is where you separate the new chickens from the old for a certain time, often four weeks, to see if they develop any symptoms that would warn you to not allow them access to your old flock. Since diseases and parasites can be transmitted in many ways, through the air, through them sharing water, eating each other's poop, or even insects the more you can separate them the better. Don't wear the same clothes (at least shoes) when tending the different birds so you don't track something back and forth. Don't use the same buckets to carry water or feed. A proper quarantine is serious business. Checking or even treating for mites, lice, or worms in quarantine might be a good idea.

This type of quarantine doesn't do much good for those flock immunity things. The stress of the move may weaken them enough to show symptoms but that's not likely. Quarantine is very effective for animals that have come from a place where they have been exposed to strange animals, like an auction or maybe a chicken show. Since they have recently been exposed to potential diseases then something might show up during quarantine. If the place you got them from has not brought in any new chickens in the past month and if the people running the place would recognize a disease or parasite if it showed up they have essentially been in quarantine. Another month's quarantine is unlikely to do you any good. It's the new diseases they have recently been exposed to that quarantine really checks for.

Lots of people bring home chickens from auctions and chicken stocks a lot and don't experience serious problems. Worms, mites, lice, and Cocci are the biggest risk. These are al treatable, they are not going to cost you your flock. It is certainly possible you could bring back a disease that will wipe out your flock, it happens. You can read some of those stories on this forum. I know a person that brought home fowl pox from a chicken show. Quarantine is a powerful tool when used right and when called for. The vast majority of people on this forum that quarantine new chickens don't really separate them that much and it seldom causes problems. The potential for disaster is there whether you quarantine or not. Don't get me wrong, quarantine is a powerful tool. But don't let someone scare you into thinking you are sure of total absolute disaster because you did not quarantine. Observe them, of course, but don't panic.

Now to your actual problem. One of my first questions when people want to integrate is how big are your facilities? How much room do you have in the coop and in the run? When you integrate plenty of room is your friend, tight spaces are your enemy. One way chickens have learned to live together in a flock is that when there is conflict the loser runs away. They need room to run away. If one chicken feels threatened by another, they avoid the chicken that scares them. They need room to avoid.

One big thing in your favor is that your chickens are all mature. You avoid all those issues of introducing young to old. Many of us do that all the time, young to old, but it does add a layer of complexity.

When two chickens meet that don't know where they stand in the pecking order, they determine their relative social status. Sometimes this involves fighting, sometimes mere intimidation will do. Sometimes this process goes so smoothly you wonder why al the concern, but occasionally chickens die. Usually there is some disruption but it is quickly smoothed over. I'll say it again, the more room you have the less likely you are to have serious problems. But even people with tight spaces that just throw new chickens together seldom actually lose a chicken to integration, though they are more likely to see serious fighting and are more likely to lose a chicken. You just don't get guaranties of anything when you deal with animal behaviors.

There are a few tricks you can use to increase your odds of success. One is to house the chickens side by side for a week or so to give them a chance to accept each other but not be able to get at each other to fight. You may still sees some fighting and intimidation when you let them mingle, but the severity is probably greatly reduced. This is not like quarantine, you want them next to each other.

If you have an extra feeding and watering station or two, that allows the ones being intimidated to eat and drink without being threatened by the others. One form of intimidation is for the stronger to keep the weaker away form the food or water. That shows they are higher in the pecking order.

One way to increase the quality of your space if not the actual footprint is to have places they can hide or avoid. When I integrate younger chickens I often find the younger ones on the roosts in the morning when I let them out while the older are on the coop floor. My nests are pretty low to the floor, sometimes the young hide under them. The younger are avoiding the older. Putting walls or just something in the run or coop (if you have room) to break the line of sight can be a big help. Something high to perch on can be a good escape. Don't make dead end traps, give them a way to escape. But giving them a place to hide or run around if they are being chased can be a big help.

The time mine are most brutal to each other, even when I'm not integrating, is at night as they are settling down on the roosts. The ones highest in the pecking order sleep wherever they wish and can be pretty rough in enforcing those pecking order rights. Sometimes the weaker look for some safe place to sleep that's not on the roosts. That might be your nests. If that happens and you can, put up a second roost higher than your nests to give them a safe place to go.

With the age and the numbers you have I think the odds of them working it out if you just turn them loose are fairly good, especially if you have some extra room. You can try and observe. Expect some fighting but as long as no blood is drawn or one gets trapped with another just pounding on it's head, don't be too quick to interfere. If you have problems try some of these tricks. But housing them side by side for a while will probably make it go smoother.

Good luck!