Getting another chicken from the same flock

[gajugrah]

Hello!
I'm a new chicken owner, I bought two 5month old RIRs on Monday night from a backyard breeder. It's now Wednesday and I'm wondering if it's too late to buy a 3rd chicken from the same breeder and assume they will get along - or if I'll have to follow the introducing new chicken techniques and keep them separated for a while.
Are there any breeds I should avoid when picking a 3rd chook to mix in well with the 2 RIRs?
Thank you!

 

[Bridebeliever]

Glad to have you here!

Your first two probably haven't fully settled in yet. And they are the only two you have? Chickens are funny, you never quite know how they will react. I have added with no real problems, completely new "stranger" chickens. One I just added right in. The other was caged where they could see her but not touch. I don't know what breeds you would have to pick from but Australorps are generally docile and good layers.

 

[N F C]

If you've only had the 2 RIR a couple days and you're getting a 3rd from the same place right away, I would guess they would be ok but as Bridebeliever said, chickens are funny. If you can get another dual purpose chicken the same size as the others and one that looks similar to them (for example, not one with a topknot like a Polish or a Silkie), you will probably be ok. It would be a good idea to watch them closely for a few days to be sure the newest one is fitting in. I wouldn't try this if much more time goes by before adding another.

Let us know how it works out for you or if you have questions.

Good luck!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi there and welcome to our community. You already have great advice so I'll leave it at that for now.

All the best

Ct

 

[drumstick diva]

They may have grown up around each other, and since only a few days have passed - I think you have a good shot of introducing them to each other without a lot of hoopla.

 

[gajugrah]

Thanks for all the tips everyone, it's Friday morning now and I haven't got the third one yet. I'm a little conscious of the coop size, as I'd have to leave them all in the coop together when we aren't home because our cats need a couple of weeks to get used to them. I may still get one this afternoon, I'm just a little worried about risking them not all getting along, especially because the two girls I have are getting along so perfectly, I don't want to upset their dynamic!

 

[coreym]

I wanna ask a question I bought some chickens from an auction which I will never do again because they were sick I am new to the whole chicken thing well I've come to like them so I kept them and put them on the tetracycline they are buff orpington and noticed the rooster had a rasp goin on so I medicated them and they got better then one of my hens a few weeks later her cone turned blue and and she had diarrhea bad then she died well all the other chickens was doing fine so I figured I'd get some more so I bought 8 pullets new Hampshire reds and got them in a pen inside the pen so they could get used to one another now I noticed my rooster has some bubbles in his eye I'm in a mess and need help please ask anything and I'll answer it I just need to get this fixed now so please help

 

[Paganrose]

Thanks for all the tips everyone, it's Friday morning now and I haven't got the third one yet. I'm a little conscious of the coop size, as I'd have to leave them all in the coop together when we aren't home because our cats need a couple of weeks to get used to them. I may still get one this afternoon, I'm just a little worried about risking them not all getting along, especially because the two girls I have are getting along so perfectly, I don't want to upset their dynamic!

I would be very worried about that run set up. Any predator can get in, and the chickens can easily get out!

 

[TwoCrows]

I wanna ask a question I bought some chickens from an auction which I will never do again because they were sick I am new to the whole chicken thing well I've come to like them so I kept them and put them on the tetracycline they are buff orpington and noticed the rooster had a rasp goin on so I medicated them and they got better then one of my hens a few weeks later her cone turned blue and and she had diarrhea bad then she died well all the other chickens was doing fine so I figured I'd get some more so I bought 8 pullets new Hampshire reds and got them in a pen inside the pen so they could get used to one another now I noticed my rooster has some bubbles in his eye I'm in a mess and need help please ask anything and I'll answer it I just need to get this fixed now so please help

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I am sorry you are having so much troubles. Unfortunately many birds from auctions are sick. Very few people take birds to auction that are healthy, they take the sick ones. You are better off knowing your breeder, getting birds from friends or hatcheries. Even off the bulletin board from a feed store...but auctions, flea markets, swaps and craigslist are no no's for the most part.

Bubbles in the eyes mean either MG or Coryza. Both are bacterial respiratory infections. Coryza will cause gummy eyes and the face will smell really bad. MG usually causes more runny secretions, not so sticky. I would get all your birds on some Sulfadimethoxine or Duramycin. Both of these will take care of respiratory issues. If you have really hard water, you will need to use RO water or Distilled water. If the meds turn blue in the water after a couple of hours, use Ro or Distilled...you have hard water. Make a new batch daily. You can order these things on line from many pet and poultry supplies. SOME feed stores will carry them. Both of these bacterial infections stay with the bird the rest of their days. So any birds you add will be subjected to this disease.

Good luck and I hope you can get them cleaned up soon!