- Apr 22, 2014
- 6
- 0
- 7
Hi everyone! As a new chicken mom, I'm hoping for some advice. We started our small flock 5 months ago with 6 RIRs. They were 19 weeks when we got them and they've done very well. They starting laying immediately, free range whenever possible and have been happy and easy to care for. We love them and decided to add to the flock. We picked up 2 more RIR pullets at the NJ State Fair this week and brought them home a few days ago. We put them together in our enclosed chicken yard and let them interact, watching carefully for any seriously aggressive behavior. There was some pecking and intimidation by the older girls, but nothing too serious. We watched them interact all day, and while they weren't friendly to the new chickens, the older hens didn't attack the younger ones either. We have a coop cam installed so we can watch the happenings inside the coop, so we let them stay together in the coop the first night. Again, no serious aggression, but the new chickens have become very nervous and literally hide in the corner of the coop as close to the wall as they can get. They do the same thing when they are in the outside enclosure. It's really sad! Have I done something wrong? Will our new girls (Cheese and Cracker...the kids named them) eventually get used to their new home and will the other birds eventually be more "welcoming"? The older ladies mostly ignore them or move as if to peck them to corner these new girls. Is this just part of a normal "pecking order" situation?