chicken friendships?

[fallenweeble]

hi poultry people!
so . . . i'm completely and hopelessly enamored of my new chicken friends. it's weird. AND i've become smitten by silkies . . . all of the warnings are coming true.
my new coop is almost finished and my new chicken pals will be taking up residence in it soon. as of right now i have three hens and one shy roo. what is the best way to introduce everyone and get them settled happily into their new space? right now everyone is separated in their own individual cages.
will the hens form friendships amongst themselves? do they hang out together? what should i look for in terms of positive vs. negative social behaviors?
thanks!

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Seems to me that chickens have a sort oof hierarchical way of dealing with each other, in other words, a pecking order! One is the highest and the rest fall inline behind, Roo was the highest in mine until he was rehomed then a hen began to get his spot on the roost and petted first and first at the treat dish...thesmaller more timid ones get pecked at and moved from position on the roost and chased alittle, Darwin's law I guess. Some of them will sit touching eah other when in their pen outside. Just like any society I guess, if resources, in this case, treats and regular food, are plentiful, the society is more peaceful!! Good luck, Darlene

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

There will be a little strife but that is to be expected until everyone understands where they are in the pecking order. Watch for excessive abuse especially missing feathers and blood. Remove the injured bird asap to prevent "gang violence" so to speak.

Randy

 

[arlee453]

A few tips gleaned from other threads here... (I will be going through this soon myself...)

Place them where they can see and hear each other for a day or two so they get used to each other's sounds, etc.

Then do your introductions at night - place the chickens on the roost when it is dark. That way they will all wake up together.

Expect some squabbles as they sort out their pecking order. As long as no body is drawing blood you're OK.

Good luck!!