Basics On Adding More Hens

[equusvilla]

Can someone please guide me on the simplest way to add a few more hens to my flock? I currently have 5 BR and 1 black hen that was suppose to be a BR.. (stupid feed store..

) Anyway - thinking ahead here - I want to add 4 more - buying them as chicks this Spring. They can be the same or differnet types..? How old should the new chicks be before I place them into the coop (that can accommodate about 24 hens) - so there is pleanty of room.

TIA

 

[BeccaB00]

Your going to want to quarantine first to be sure the new ones don't have

any sicknesses or anything, then put the new ones in a smaller/seperate cage INSIDE

on the current chickens' pens. That way they can see and talk to each other but no fighting.

Or killing. After about a week of that you should be able to slowly

start introducing them to the rest of the flock with-out the 'protector' cage.

It does not matter what

kind they are. They don't gotta be the same kind. A mutt flock is the prettiest!

Being you have full grown hens, the new ones should probably be full grown

themselves, or atleast close so they can defend themselves if somthing goes wrong.

good luck!

-Becca

 

[equusvilla]

Thanks Becca - that is exactly what I was looking for!

 

[bburn]

I recently added three pullets and two hens...all BR's to a Rooster I already had. I quarantined. However, I thought I would be able to put the pullets with the hens. They were half the size of the hens. After three days of the pullets laying in the corner trying to stay out of the hens thoughts and reach I built a pen for them to stay in and grow up a little.

During the month of quarantine they got a lot of their size. So, by the time I put them all together they knew to stay away from the hens but were big enough to take care of themselves.

I did run a line of just chicken wire across the middle of the big run and put the little girls in there for an extra week. The day I put them all together I let them all out into the garden to free range for a while and then herded them back in. Things worked out nicely. Now the pullets hang out with the hens and there are no issues. BUT....the pullets are not ready to breed yet and the rooster has to behave with them.....he has the hens after all.

 

[equusvilla]

Quote:
Thanks for the information. Should work out well if I wait long enought to put them all together - especially since we do not have a rooster.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

There's some general information here on bringing in new birds: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/01/18/introducing-new-chickens/

Hope it is helpful.