I know I have read a couple ways to add new chickens: I have seen the suggestions to add them at roosting time - at night, so they all wake up together. Also I've read to put them in sectioned off areas next to each other for a week.
I have lost some of my hens. (spring time and wild animals are hunting to feed their babies) I can get pullets about 12 - 15 weeks old. I don't really have shelter for them (and with all the rain we are getting) to put them in an area next to my current chickens. I worry about putting up a fenced area, so they can "get used to each other" and not having shelter from the rain and weather. Our night time temps are running in the 40's and sometimes 50's.
My current hens will be a year old in June. I have welsummer, silver marans, red star and I think I have lost all my partridge rock (they went broody and I think that is why they were so easy for something to get to). I have 8 hens total.
I believe the lady still has cinnamon queen, black star and maybe an other couple kind of pullets. I would get probably about 7 or 8 of them total.
So, would it be a disaster to try the just adding them at night at roosting time?
They all have up to 3 acres to free range on and they do so as they want. I do not fence them off to any specific part of those three acres.
The chicken house is a shed, 10 x 10 in size.
The door is left open, and they let themselves out as wanted and put themselves away.
Three levels of roosts, and each level is about 8 feet long. Plus some of my current hens even roost in the rafters of the shed.
I have lost some of my hens. (spring time and wild animals are hunting to feed their babies) I can get pullets about 12 - 15 weeks old. I don't really have shelter for them (and with all the rain we are getting) to put them in an area next to my current chickens. I worry about putting up a fenced area, so they can "get used to each other" and not having shelter from the rain and weather. Our night time temps are running in the 40's and sometimes 50's.
My current hens will be a year old in June. I have welsummer, silver marans, red star and I think I have lost all my partridge rock (they went broody and I think that is why they were so easy for something to get to). I have 8 hens total.
I believe the lady still has cinnamon queen, black star and maybe an other couple kind of pullets. I would get probably about 7 or 8 of them total.
So, would it be a disaster to try the just adding them at night at roosting time?
They all have up to 3 acres to free range on and they do so as they want. I do not fence them off to any specific part of those three acres.
The chicken house is a shed, 10 x 10 in size.
The door is left open, and they let themselves out as wanted and put themselves away.
Three levels of roosts, and each level is about 8 feet long. Plus some of my current hens even roost in the rafters of the shed.
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