Does the over night sneak in work? UPDATE pics pg 3

[NonnasBabies]

How is his size compared to the others??? 3 months seems awfully young to put in with the older girls!!

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

You should not attempt to put them together until they are about the same size. Even with that, I always introduce any new members to the flock via a wire cage that houses the new flock members. After 2-4 weeks of them being around each other, then I will attempt to introduce them together. It's worked so far. But my first 3 hens are by far the leaders of the flock. They chase everyone outside in the mornings, and they round them all up and back into the coop at night. It's really cute to watch.

As for your little rooster, try putting him into a large wire cage inside the coop with another flock member for a few weeks. Then re-introduce them both back to the flock at the same time. The purpose of the large wire cage is so they can see eachother and get used to eachother with out the issues of confrontations, fights, or injuries. If you put a current flock member in the cage with him, they will see him as less threatening since one of their own has accepted him.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

 

[Caddy-Corner-Chick]

Do you think he would do okay separated by himself until he comes into his own as a Rooster?

 

[Irene]

Yes, I read that too... Never really worked for me... It's best never to have a lonely only chicken. No matter when you introduce them to a new flock there will always be some testing and picking. It's just that way. I've tried to keep them separate with a wire fence separating the two for 2 weeks, but, eventually, you have to let them mingle.... Sorry...-- Irene in TX

 

[Caddy-Corner-Chick]

Okay well I pulled him out of the coop and run with the other girls and he is in a dog house with an exercise pen while I run up to Lowes to invest in some pvc pipes and netting, I will make a light weight cage I can put in their coop .... Or maybe I will move the dog house right against their run but put him in his own bigger area but where they can see each other...

When does a Roo normally become the man, is it 6 months?

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Before you put them in the coop at night....and it does work....you first have to acclimate them to each other. I keep my group locked in the run and the mom and babies out so they all can see each other. I swap them in and out so the babies can get use to inside the coop too. After about a week I slip them in the coop at night and I've never had a problem but I think you have to let them get use to each other separated by a fence first. Oh and I wait until the babies are about 2 months old.

 

[Caddy-Corner-Chick]

Quote:
I just got back from Lowe's and after my wonderful search of where did I leave my measuring tape last search... I am almost ready to build his temporary pen. He has been hanging out in the doghouse with exercise pen and the girls can still see him.... he is approx. 3 feet away, but when I am done I am going to put them side to side so they can smell each other if that is possible.

I am already exhausted, for I have done this with an 8 month old baby on my hip the whole time, Praying he will take a nap now so I can complete my task.
I always have put the horse before the carriage... sort of speak..

 

[fargosmom]

I'll be in a similar spot in a couple of months - I've got 6 pullets ranging from 5 to 9 weeks old, currently in a tractor I built for them on my patio. My 2 adult hens are two years old. I'm not sure the tractor is big enough for 6 full-size birds, so I was hoping I could integrate the pullets in the next couple of months . . . and my plan was that I would let them all free-range together for several days before trying to combine them, and finally put them together right at nightfall. At that point they will all be at least 4 months old. My hope is that the new kids will outnumber the big girls and have some strength in numbers. Any thoughts?

 

[Gypsy07]

I've done the overnight sneak-in a few times, and it's always worked out okay. In general, the more chickens you're adding and the older they are, the fewer problems you'll probably have. Last year I added one small adult hen, and while she didn't get bullied, she was completely ostracised for over a month before everyone accepted her into the flock. A while before that I added three old Leghorns I got from a local farmer, and on opening the coop door the next morning it was obvious that they were already well up the pecking order. It was really funny to watch them pushing the other hens around when they'd only been in there for a few hours.

 

[melody123]

If you have a homogenous flock, and you are introducing a single new bird that looks radically different, then it probably won't work. (ie If you have 20 two year old rhode island reds, and you attempt to put in a single 3-month-old leghorn, they they will try to kill her.)

But if you have a mixed up flock like mine, then you can get away with it. What's one new bird, when you already have multiple ages and breeds of chickens from gamebird to full sized, some turkeys, guneas, and ducks. My birds are used to living in chaos, and it usually agrees with them. Of course their's alway trouble when one of the gamebird hens try to snuggle against a grumpy hen turkey at night, but he eventually moves to a new perch and all is well.