I have read that you shouldn't try to integrate a single bird into an established flock. Naturally, that is exactly what I am attempting to do. My hatchery order of a few layer pullets and 21 meat birds included two extra chicks. One of the extras was another meat bird (long since in our freezer), but the other turned out to be a Bielefelder cockerel. I was dismayed because I live within the city limits and am not allowed to have a rooster. So I raised him up with the layer pullets, and figured that if I couldn't re-home him, we would butcher him when he started crowing, or turned 5 months, whichever came first. Then a friend suggested I enter him in the fair, which I did, as he was a beautiful bird and an uncommon breed. After judging (he got a blue ribbon) I placed a "for sale" sign on his cage. One of the judges promptly bought him on the spot. But then, even though he was an "extra" bird I'd never intended to have in the first place, I felt rather bereft, and turned around and bought a hen of the same breed to replace him in my younger flock.
The pullet I bought is about the same age as the other in the younger flock, at 4 1/2 months old. I read that when introducing new birds, they should be kept separated, but within view of one another for at least a week. So I put walls around the legs of the existing chicken coop, creating a lower level coop with a simple open doorway, and then divided the run into two parts with some temporary netting. I put the new bird into the lower "coop," and kept the other three in their usual space.
Day one went fine. Day two, went fine. Day three, the new bird escaped from her side of the mesh fencing which ended up creating a ruckus when the other birds discovered the interloper in their territory. It took some work to get her safely back into her side of the chicken run. Day four, one of the existing flock got into the newcomer's side, but wanted back out. I decided that since the birds kept finding their way around the barrier, I'd simply put one of the existing flock with her, giving them the run of the whole fenced chicken run, and letting the other two birds out to roam in the area outside the chicken run. I was hoping that one on one interactions would sort things out without the three ganging up on her. Tomorrow I plan to put a different one of the existing flock in with the newbie for the day, and then the third bird will have a turn. My hope is that all these one on one opportunities to dispute dominance will get things sorted out without the single new pullet getting too victimized.
In another month or two, I'll be trying to merge my older laying flock of four 2 year old hens, with this younger flock of four. The mature hens are in a totally different coop in a different part of our property, but can only be there for the summer months as that coop is too far for us to provide power for the winter months. They will eventually have to come home to roost in the coop close to the house where they lived the first year of their lives. If this works for this single pullet, I'm thinking I might be able to introduce the mature hens one at a time as well.
Has anyone else tried integration piecemeal like this, and if so, how did it go?
The pullet I bought is about the same age as the other in the younger flock, at 4 1/2 months old. I read that when introducing new birds, they should be kept separated, but within view of one another for at least a week. So I put walls around the legs of the existing chicken coop, creating a lower level coop with a simple open doorway, and then divided the run into two parts with some temporary netting. I put the new bird into the lower "coop," and kept the other three in their usual space.
Day one went fine. Day two, went fine. Day three, the new bird escaped from her side of the mesh fencing which ended up creating a ruckus when the other birds discovered the interloper in their territory. It took some work to get her safely back into her side of the chicken run. Day four, one of the existing flock got into the newcomer's side, but wanted back out. I decided that since the birds kept finding their way around the barrier, I'd simply put one of the existing flock with her, giving them the run of the whole fenced chicken run, and letting the other two birds out to roam in the area outside the chicken run. I was hoping that one on one interactions would sort things out without the three ganging up on her. Tomorrow I plan to put a different one of the existing flock in with the newbie for the day, and then the third bird will have a turn. My hope is that all these one on one opportunities to dispute dominance will get things sorted out without the single new pullet getting too victimized.
In another month or two, I'll be trying to merge my older laying flock of four 2 year old hens, with this younger flock of four. The mature hens are in a totally different coop in a different part of our property, but can only be there for the summer months as that coop is too far for us to provide power for the winter months. They will eventually have to come home to roost in the coop close to the house where they lived the first year of their lives. If this works for this single pullet, I'm thinking I might be able to introduce the mature hens one at a time as well.
Has anyone else tried integration piecemeal like this, and if so, how did it go?