Advice

[randir]

Hi I may have a silly question but here goes,... I have two black Australorp 1 1/2 years old and they are as sweet as can be, they are the best of friends. I'm wanting to get two more but I'm very worried of disrupting their peaceful life, is there a way of not disrupting it or should I play it safe and not get anymore?
Thanks
Randi

 

[cafarmgirl]

Bringing in new birds will always disrupt things for a while. If you take the integration process slow and give them time to get used to each other through a fence before putting them together it usually goes better for all involved. There will still be some fights as they establish a new picking order. You will need to supervise to make sure things don't get out of hand and the more space you have them in the easier as well. Things will settle down after a while. It's just a matter of whether or not you want to work at integrating new birds, it can be a little harder with a very small flock but people do it all the time. Keep in mind that your birds may be very sweet with you and with each other but chickens generally really hate newcomers so expect some scuffles and pecking for a while.

 

[N F C]

cafarmgirl has given you some good advice on integrating new birds with the "look but don't touch" method. Remember to isolate any new birds for about 30 days before they get close to your existing girls. You sure don't want to introduce unwanted pests or illness along with new chickens. Once you do get them all together, an extra waterer and feeder can ensure that no one is being kept away from food and water.

Good luck!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on using the "look but don't touch" method of introducing new chickens to your existing flock. There's a good article at https://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/introducing-new-chickens/ explaining how to do it. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[Pork Pie]

You have some great advice already, so I'll just say a big hello and welcome BYC. Good luck with your new additions!

All the best
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

Actually it is usually better to get several birds from the same place , same age so they grow up with each other and don't have many integration issues.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to joined the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC.