Confused...Need your help!

[The-Chicken-Guy-_-]

Hi, (New to BYC!

)

I have 6 RIR hens at the moment, love them

They are around 1 and a half

And I got some money now , so I want to get 3 or 4 more.

Will the 6 chickens be aggressive towards these new guys or stay the same?


Oh and should I try get POL Chickens or Hens the same age as my current flock?
And any suggestions of breeds that are good large brown egg layers?

Thanks

 

[jacyjones]

Hi, You will find a lot of people will recommend that you keep the new chickens in quarantine to make sure they are healthy before you introduce them. I have never done this as I know my supplier well. We put the new ones in the shed and let the others come in as usual to roost. There is always a bit of loud clucking and crossness the next day but we find it calms down quite quickly and the new ones settle in. We have always added POL to our flock and they do fine - whatever the age of the rest. good luck!!

 

[sandy sea]

Welcome. If you get small chicks, you will have to keep them away from your prsent hens until they are more the same size. Your Hens will try to kill them. If you get the older hens you will still have to watch them for a while, there will be a picking order fight. Also do not just add them right away. Keep them away from your own Hens. Watch the new ones to for a week or so to make sure they are not sick.

 

[The-Chicken-Guy-_-]

Thanks for the advice guys! I was thinking of gettin 1yo + hens .

Any breed/type suggestions from you hen experts?

So you guys are saying if I buy new hens that I will have to keep them away from the other hens? For how long?

 

[jacyjones]

It seems to be about a week. If you can keep them where they can all see each other but not have contact that would be good. I have never done this but I bred some of my own and kept them apart until they were about 20 weeks, they could see each other in that time. When we integrated them everyone was fine - there is always a bit of bossing until the pecking order is sorted.
You need advice from the Americans on here about breed as we have different ones in the UK - I have Warrens and Black Rocks that are good layers but I don't think you have them over there!!

 

[wolftracks]

I keep mine apart for a month. Maybe it's just me.

If you want a really dark brown egg??? Better get Marans! I LOVE MARANS! Then again I love all my breeds. And Welsummers.........some don't like them, but I love speckled eggs.

BTW..............

from California!

 

[The-Chicken-Guy-_-]

Quote:

Cool

Marans? Do they lay large dark brown eggs? =P Sorry I ask questions , just new to the chicken world

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:

Cool

Marans? Do they lay large dark brown eggs? =P Sorry I ask questions , just new to the chicken world

Quality Marans yes. Marans eggs from a good breeder are really dark. But unfortunately there are lots of people trying to offload not so great Marans. If you want Marans, your best bet for egg color is to hatch them yourself. Otherwise, you're taking a gamble on what you get.

New chicks should be separate from adults until they are roughly the same size. (about 13 weeks) It's best if they can get used to each other through a fence during this time. Put them on the roost at night and keep a close eye on them. There will be chasing, pecking, etc for a couple weeks while they sort out their new order. I can tell you that my RIR is the worst when it comes to integrating chickens, she doesn't accept newbies very well, but is the sweetest thing to people.

Older hens should be quaranteened for a month to make sure they don't have any diseases that could spread to your flock. You should have them in an area away from your main coop/run. Do not wear the same shoes in with the new ones that you wear into your main coop. Wash you hands before going from the new birds to the old.

And finally

 

[Happy Chooks]

Here's the breed index if you want to search through different breeds:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/breeds/breed-chart