Help introducing two chickens.

[kmccann]

I have a chicken (azreal or azzy for short) and today we were at a friends farm getting mpwood and more eggs she showed us a chicken that was bullied by all the other chickens and had to be kept in a separate cage. She persuaded us to take the bird home and try to save it from becoming dinner. We've had our other chicken since July and she has a HUGE coop that is honestly way too big for one chicken she's been best freinds with our Juliana mini pig scince we got her. She is very friendly and nice to people and our pig but she pecks the other bird insanely and earlier kept biting her tail feathers. Scince our cage is two floors we tried to section off the top and let az stay there and put the new chicken on the bottom but Az, usually a quiet bird, made the most awful loud noises. Since chickens are illegal in our town we had to pacify her to keep her quiet...we have the new chicken in our back room in a box with an open top at the moment, but this can only be very temporary as we have a pit bull that does not like birds..The new bird is not hostile in any way.



Any ideas to help them get along?

 

[buckabucka]

Chickens are best introduced slowly. If they could live next to each other, separated by chicken wire for about a month or so, you may have better luck integrating them. There will always be some pecking, as they must establish a pecking order, but getting them acquainted through a fence will help eliminate viscious behavior.
good luck!

 

[ChickChickChicky]

I'm no expert by any means, but I got three new birds to add to my three existing birds. I live in town and have precisely enough room for 6 birds, and no way to separate them or anything. So I waited til late afternoon and put the new birds in the run with the old birds... BUT I made sure that I put LOTS of treats scattered around for everyone. I figured if everyone was busy stuffing their face that they wouldn't notice anything else. There were a few minor squawks but nothing too bad, and I stayed and watched them til it got dark and they all went into the coop. There were a few sqawks as they settled on the roosts (old girls ended up on the top, new girls on the bottom roost). I kept them locked in the coop a couple extra hours the next morning, then again made sure there were plenty of treats scattered around for everyone when I let them into the run. One of the new girls was apparently homesick and sqwawked at the top of her lungs, all day, that first day. I was freaking out and finally contacted the lady I'd gotten her from to see if I could exchange her for a quieter model. The old owner gave the ok for an exchange, but by the next day Sheri had decided things weren't so bad here after all and quieted right down. Chickens are predominantly FOOD motivated, so try using LOTS of food to distract them from the idea that something and/or someone is new. It worked for me.

And don't be afraid to keep an eye on them at first and be willing to immediately break up any arguments... a stern NO and a poke is all it takes.

 

[jeslewmazer]

Since chickens are illegal in our town we had to pacify her to keep her quiet.

So, why try to keep them if they illegal to have? So, I am not condoning what you are doing, but like like the others said, it can take time and patients to introduce a new bird. Every introduction is not always the same and sometimes a chicken will not except another for unknown reasons.

 

[kmccann]

We have to eat the bugs and lay eggs for our family. Zoning laws in our town do not permit chickens, therefore it is illegal.

 

[kmccann]

Thank you, but the new chicken will barely eat, not even the food she came with. We threw her a little bread and she barely ate any. We left food in her cage overnight and hopefully she'll eat some.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Try some treats that chickens really love, like cooked mashed potatoes, or especially meat of any kind. Maybe that will get her appetite going.