How can i acclimate new hens

[Heather-Feather]

My husband and I just bought three americana hens today. They are 7 months old. However, they were raised on a farm and they never really had much contact with people or being handled. They typically will run away in panic. I tried sitting on the ground inside the tiny little run / coop area that we made for them but they freaked out. Any suggestions on how we can acclimate them to us so that we can trust them to roam free in our yard and not have to worry about them running so far off as we try to get them back? We currently have 6 others and they are well behaved. eventually the new girls will be moved over to the coop with our other girls. I know it takes time but I want to make sure we are doing things the right way.

 

[A.M. Eggs]

Best thing you can do is show them that you are not a threat. Spend time with them, but don't try to pick them up. We have only bought adults once and I tried this method. It will make them feel comfortable around you, but it will not make them cuddly. Best way to get cuddly chickens is to raise them as babies. Good Luck!

 

[A.M. Eggs]

Get the chickens used to where they are supposed to sleep and lay and they will do fine free-ranging. Quarantine the new hens before introducing them to your flock. Best way is a see-but-no-touch situation.

 

[Heather-Feather]

Get the chickens used to where they are supposed to sleep and lay and they will do fine free-ranging. Quarantine the new hens before introducing them to your flock. Best way is a see-but-no-touch situation.

Yes, they are quarantined. I learned the hard way from anxious moments lol. Thank you.

Below is a recent post that I put up for my sick pullet. Someone responded saying that he believes she has MG.
We have had her for about a month and a half now and she is still sick. Her eyes have gotten worse, every time I take her out of her pet carrier for eyes are dripping fluid all over my hand. I have flushed them with saline. I have given her Tylan and vetrx. I'm attaching pictures of her eyes still...View attachment 1585884 View attachment 1585885 View attachment 1585886
... original post.........
Barred pullet. Approx 3 month old. Weights close to 2lbs (guessing). Does seem lighter.
When we first got her, and 3 others, about a month ago they all seemed fine. About a week after getting her we started hearing wheezing and we can notice that she was having respiratory distress when breathing. We immediately put her in a pet carrier and isolated her away from the other three. At the time she had very mucusy discharge coming from her nose and her eyes were very wet looking. We also noticed that the other three started to get sick one by one. They all seem to have done very well with Tylan shots. In fact, at this time, you would never know that the other three were sick. We thought that our Barred was doing much better and put her back outside with the other girls only to notice that she was still acting lethargic, standing still in one place and eyes constantly closed. Upon bringing her back in the house and back into the pet carrier you could see that her eyes were crusted shut. After applying moist paper towel over her eyes they got better, but she still holds them closed. We no longer hear wheezing. Once in a while we do notice that she lifts her head a little bit and opens her beak a small width and breathes and it's not with every breath. But in general her breathing does appear normal. She has been sick for approximately a total of three weeks now. There is no bleeding involved or any injury. At the very beginning she would not eat anything and then when she was feeling better she was eating scrambled eggs and her regular dry food. And drinking as well. Then we put her outside, the first time, and then brought her back inside and she was not eating right away but she started eating within a day or two after. She is eating scrambled eggs still and is drinking. I did not see any worms in the eyelids or in the back of the throat. However this morning I did see one tiny little bug running across her chest before I injected her antibiotics into her breast muscle. It was very small and it appeared to be a light brown color. I did not see any other bugs on her when I looked around. Her bedding is pine chips with in a cat carrier

Best thing you can do is show them that you are not a threat. Spend time with them, but don't try to pick them up. We have only bought adults once and I tried this method. It will make them feel comfortable around you, but it will not make them cuddly. Best way to get cuddly chickens is to raise them as babies. Good Luck!

Thank you

 

[Fairview01]

Food, specially corn chops. Chickens will do anything for food, particularly if they are a bit hungry.