Age gaps

[chicknluvrr]

Hello there! I have a silkie roo 18 weeks and a silkie hen 18 weeks. I am wanting to get another silkie (or serama). how old should the new hen be to be introduced?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Around the same age or older. It's mostly an issue of size. If she is much smaller she will get bullied but definitely do a see-no-touch period of at least a week before you let her into the flock. Ideally you should quarantine the new girl in case of disease

 

[Buckeye Amy]

I agree, size is more important than age. That said, some of the toughest birds I've owned have not been the largest.

 

[chicknluvrr]

Perfect! Do you know the best way to go about that.

Around the same age or older. It's mostly an issue of size. If she is much smaller she will get bullied but definitely do a see-no-touch period of at least a week before you let her into the flock. Ideally you should quarantine the new girl in case of disease

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Depends on your setup. I usually use a very large wire dog kennel placed inside the run and with at least one side up against the run so the new girl cab reach her food and water without being pestered

 

[rosemarythyme]

The age doesn't really matter as much as how you handle the introduction period, plus your overall set up and space. No matter the age of the newcomer(s) there should be a see but no touch period of 1-2 weeks before the birds are allowed to interact. And obviously the more space the better... if you have a minimal sized set up it will be much harder to add any additional birds.

If the newcomer(s) are older chicks/hens or if they come from a source that doesn't practice good biosecurity, it would be safest to quarantine them for up to a month before even beginning see but no touch: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...nderestimated-part-of-raising-chickens.67097/

I'd also advise against only adding a single bird as that's a more difficult integration.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is an old saying "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog". I find the same is true with chickens. Bantams often dominate full-sized fowl chickens. I find maturity to be important if some are more mature than the others.

I don't know how mature your 18-week-old pullet is. If she is laying eggs she can be considered a mature hen as far as behaviors go. If she is not laying yet then she is probably not that mature. I don't have any milestones to measure maturity of a cockerel. Some can mature really early, some take a long time. I'd try to get as close to the same age as your current chickens as I can. That way you are most likely to match maturity.

I strongly agree it is best to add more than one at a time. They are social animals and do better if they have company. I like to add a minimum of three. That way if something happens to one the others still have a buddy.