Getting new birds and a new house-how to manage?

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's what I thought, you won't know how the will behave until you try it, so pick a chicken and see what happens, but be prepared to separate her is it gets too rough, they only need to be in close proximity, not necessarily need to be touching.

 

[User395221]

Me again. I put one of the big girls in with the little girls. She got very distressed at being separated from the others and just paced and tried to get back with them. I didn't make her stay in there....

I'm trying now to get them all together. I carried one of the little girls into the run to see what would happen, the big girls immediately tried to attack her/kick her. I've let the big girls into the yard where the little ones are, thinking if I served treats, they might all come running, but the little ones are just "hiding out", away from the big girls (I don't blame them if the big girls are "being mean" to them).

What now? Do I just continue letting them share the same area and let the little ones keep clear and hope that they'll get brave and venture out and about? If I try to get them into the coop at night, will the big girls be less mean, or do I just have to try things and see what happens? If I put them in there in the dark, do I need to get up at dawn to make sure they don't get hurt?

How can I tell when the big girls are just demonstrating their superiority and when they have murderous intent? I'm scared they'll murder the new chickens, or really hurt them, but I'm not a "chicken person" (yet!) and can't read the signs as I could in a cat or a dog.

 

[azygous]

Before I asked questions, I went back and read all your posts on the thread, but I don't see anywhere that tells how old the "new" girls are. There are just two of them, right?

It's normal for new or younger chickens to keep to themselves and not want to eat with or mingle with the older ones. Chickens have strict rules about rank and newcomers usually won't break those rules. That means eating only when the older ones are finished. This is why it's important to make sure newcomers have their own feeding station where they can be sure they can eat without being chased away from the feeder.

If the new chickens are much smaller than the original hens, it's easy to place the food and water inside a safe enclosure with entrances into it that are only large enough for the new ones and not the older girls. For newcomers that are nearly the same size as the originals, you will need numerous feeding stations so everyone has a shot at getting all they need.

This safe enclosure, I like to refer to as a "panic room", is the ideal solution to keeping smaller chickens safe from the bigger ones. You can safely assume the new girls won't be in any danger at night when everyone is interested in roosting. When morning comes, the new girls will be chased out of the coop, and if they have a safe area (panic room) to retreat inside for safety, you won't have to worry about them getting "murdered".

If the newcomers are the same size, or nearly so, then your best bet to insure safety is to have plenty of space and plenty of perches or platforms of varying height so the ones being bullied can find escape. If they free-range mostly, the open spaces virtually assure their safety. If all of the chickens, old and new are going to be penned together in that small run, you may have problems unless the new ones have a panic room to run to.

 

[User395221]

but I don't see anywhere that tells how old the "new" girls are. There are just two of them, right?

There are 2 and they were about 8/9 weeks and 12 weeks when I got them on 11 Jan, so they are now about 12 and 15 weeks (something like that, don't have a calendar handy.

Quote:
I can put more feeders, but they could still be chased away. They are smaller than the big girls, but not that much smaller and they are growing (a lot) so I doubt any 'little girl' sized door would fit them through it for long, assuming it could be done where they could fit but not the bigger girls.

Quote:
They are penned until I get up and let them out, then they are loose. The little girls could get to the feeder then if they were being shoved aside, the big girls maraud about the garden. The big girls are being confined until they get used to laying in there and not in the bushes. They are not going to be penned together all the time, but they are in there in the morning. (there'll also be a bigger attached run when I finish putting it up, so in the mornings they'll have more space than just the coop and its run.)

 

[azygous]

Thanks for clarifying the situation. As I see it, it's just a matter of being patient while they all work things out. They're all about the same size or soon will be, so the young ones only need to find their self confidence and their places in the flock. It requires time.

You can find comfort in knowing that, being nearly the same size, it's unlikely anyone will be seriously injured after the original flock becomes adjusted to their not being intruders. If you've had them where the original girls could see them since Jan. 11, then they ought to be getting used to having them around, and everyone should be settling in together by now.

Watch carefully their behavior when they need to be penned up together. That will give you an idea as to any problems that still need to be addressed. A lot of the time, though, if we just stand back and let the chickens work things out, they will do it in a very short time, and without much fuss. Just be ready to step in if there's a serious bully in the original bunch.

If you provide plenty of vertical safe escapes, the younger ones can always find safety by hopping onto a high perch or platform. That's what I would do.

 

[User395221]

If you've had them where the original girls could see them since Jan. 11, then they ought to be getting used to having them around, and everyone should be settling in together by now.

They could see them, but they weren't interested at all, I don't think they even noticed.

Quote: The big girls were aggressive and attacked the little ones.

Quote:
It's just so scary when you aren't familiar with the behaviour. I don't want them to hurt my little girls. Interestingly, I went all "dog" on one of th chickens yesterday, she was about to leap on a little one and I growled and said "no! don't!" and she didn't. Also, one looked like running up to a little one in the yard and she stopped and turned away (I didn't do anything, that time). Is a "scuffle" expected and can I let it happen? I'm just not happy when there's any fighting, but if I have to let them sort themselves out, I'll let them sort themselves out.

Quote:
Thanks, I'll have to look into doing that. At the moment, there isn't anywhere. Also underneath the coop is a sort of "cornered dead end" because chickens don't seem able to see that mesh is a barrier, they just keep trying to go through it, instead of understanding that they have to turn around and go back the other way.

 

[azygous]

That's the trouble with small runs. It's easy for the bullies to trap their victims against dead ends, and that's when injuries occur. Chickens have very tiny brains I'm sure you've noticed. They're smart in some ways, but totally stupid when it comes to figuring out how to get from one point to another that doesn't involve a straight path forward. That's why you need plenty of space when putting new chickens in with an existing flock.

I think you mentioned somewhere that you have plans on enlarging that small outside pen just off the coop? Why don't you continue to keep the new girls separate from the older ones until you improve their run with more space? You could have gotten away with such a small run if you hadn't wanted to introduce new chickens. Expecting them all to co-exist peacefully in that tiny area is just not realistic, no matter how much time you give them.

 

[User395221]

Why don't you continue to keep the new girls separate from the older ones until you improve their run with more space?

My little girl is getting a red face and people are saying she's not far off laying. I'd rather she only laid in the new house and not in the one they're in now.

(the run is 3 metres by 1.5 metres, BTW)

The other run will be attached with a tunnel, I wouldn't want them to get bashed up in the "bottleneck". Anyway, I'll just need to get up really early to work on it (we're in for a heatwave this week, no way to do anything outdoors in this weather ) and get it finished.

 

[AuroraJules]

Just a couple pieces of advice. If everyone is going to be going into the new coop eventually, here's what I'd do. I'd let the new and old see each other for a couple of days, and they sort of pre establish dominance. Then put them all together in the new coop at night so they have to sleep together before seeing each other the whole night. The next day, don't let anybody out of the coop, and they will all accept the new coop as home. The following day, let them out as usual. Integration and new coop established in one day. Done! Don't drive yourself crazy, for sure! There will still be some fighting that first day in the coop, but it's got to happen, and it's not that big a deal. Relax.

 

[ducks4you]

I have introduced new birds to an existing flock many times and Also introduced new horses to an existing herd MANY times. Different animals but they both have a gang/club mentality.
If you are introducing a single adult rooster to a flock of hens you can do so immediately and everybody gets along, if the rooster is larger than the hens.
If you have two flocks of hens, I would move the smaller flock in first, and then introduce one new hen a day from the larger flock and put them at a disadvantage. If you do it the other way, you risk the health and welfare of the smaller flock.
You can never introduce a strange rooster to ANY flock with one or more existing roosters. They don't know each other and will fight to the death. I raise multiple roosters together and then I can move them all in with a flock of hens without any trouble.
I'm not sure about introducing birds at night and acceptance. I moved 5 young roosters in with my existing 7 layers, and they STILL try to kick them out of the coop in bad winter weather, while they roost inside (during the day). At night they all go inside. My roosters are 6mo's. I'll be glad when they outweigh the girls and push Them around.