How long should I keep new chickens separate ?

[Chickadee64]

Hi all, I am a primary school science teacher and decided to get some chickens for our school. I purchased a Light Sussex mama and 4 chicks that I was assured were hens. How naive of me!!! If you check out my other posts you will learn that all 4 ended up being cockerels and our council prohibits roosters. So, to cut a long story short, the roosters are now gone and I have bought two speckled Sussex pullets to keep her company and hopefully encourage mama to start laying eggs again. My question is, how long should I keep the two new girls separated from mama? or, should I just out them straight in with her and see what happens? she is looking lonely and not her usual hungry and talkative self. Obviously, she will be missing her chickies but hopefully, she'll perk up with the company of the new young girls. any advice for me will be gratefully received as I am a newbie to all of this.

 

[Chickenwalls]

Introduced them slowly so like have them in separate cage in her area. Normally you would use a anti peck but if at the school you may not be able to use it

 

[LateBirdFarms]

A "see but no touch" integration is usually the best course of action when it comes to introductions to reduce the odds of injury and bullying. Where did you get the new pullets from? If they're not hatchery stock I would definitely recommend taking at least a month of quarantine time to make sure everyone is healthy before risking your original feathered lady's well being.
Some people have great luck just tossing new chickens in to the pen, but it can go very very wrong, very very fast. Having a barrier between them for at the very least a week makes things less stressful on everyone.

 

[Chickadee64]

Introduced them slowly so like have them in separate cage in her area. Normally you would use a anti peck but if at the school you may not be able to use it

What is an anti peck? Sorry for my ignorance. I have an extra wee rin where the new girls can go for a while. They will be separated but still be able to see Barbara and 'talk to her. I got the new girls from a proper poultry farm who vaccinate and guarantee the health and sex of their birds. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice by trusting just any backyard breeder. apparently, the pullets have each laid a couple of little eggs so they must be girls!

 

[Chickadee64]

A "see but no touch" integration is usually the best course of action when it comes to introductions to reduce the odds of injury and bullying. Where did you get the new pullets from? If they're not hatchery stock I would definitely recommend taking at least a month of quarantine time to make sure everyone is healthy before risking your original feathered lady's well being.
Some people have great luck just tossing new chickens in to the pen, but it can go very very wrong, very very fast. Having a barrier between them for at the very least a week makes things less stressful on everyone.

thank you for your great advice! I will keep them apart and watch closely for a few days and then maybe let the girls in for a supervised visit where I can watch them closely?

 

[Chickenwalls]

What is an anti peck? Sorry for my ignorance. I have an extra wee rin where the new girls can go for a while. They will be separated but still be able to see Barbara and 'talk to her. I got the new girls from a proper poultry farm who vaccinate and guarantee the health and sex of their birds. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice by trusting just any backyard breeder. apparently, the pullets have each laid a couple of little eggs so they must be girls!

Anti peck can come in to form most commonly spray but there are powder forms. At first they will peck at them but the anti peck has smell and taste chickens dislike a lot so they stop doing it.

 

[Chickadee64]

Anti peck can come in to form most commonly spray but there are powder forms. At first they will peck at them but the anti peck has smell and taste chickens dislike a lot so they stop doing it.

Ah, now I know! thank you! I have learned another new chicken treat!

 

[hannah and the chickens]

Even with the "see but no touch" method the chickens will probably get into a few fights in the first week(s) since they can't form a pecking order through the fence. As long as they don't hurt each other seriously you'll have to let them do their thing.
Just make sure to offer feed and water in multiple places so that every chicken gets the chance to eat and drink.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

thank you for your great advice! I will keep them apart and watch closely for a few days and then maybe let the girls in for a supervised visit where I can watch them closely?

Expect a bit of squabbling no matter how long you wait before introducing them but as long as you keep an eye out for any true bullying or aggression you can give it a go. I'd expect the two new girls to be a bit cliquey at first and Barbara to be a little territorial, which is entirely normal even if you've waited a decent bit for them to get acquainted through the barrier. Dont forget to keep multiple food and water stations so there's no squabbling if the new pair or your original girl decides to guard the bowls. If Barbara is really serious about keeping her space hers, switching them to opposite pens sometimes works to shake things up enough to change the head hens opinions on things. I've never heard of using an anti pick product to ease introduction, I've always used the cage inside the run/coop method and I've had very little trouble bringing new birds into the flock, even when I kept some pretty domineering girls. Anti-pick is more often used for deterring feather and wound picking but I can see the logic behind trying it for integrations. (I wouldn't trust it to do all the work, personally, maybe as an added tool though.)
Im sure some other members have a few more tips and hints to add come sun up, but I've officially run out of steam to work my brain! Best of luck with your new girls, and Barb of course! Don't hesitate to ask if there's anything else you need a hand with!

 

[Chickadee64]

Expect a bit of squabbling no matter how long you wait before introducing them but as long as you keep an eye out for any true bullying or aggression you can give it a go. I'd expect the two new girls to be a bit cliquey at first and Barbara to be a little territorial, which is entirely normal even if you've waited a decent bit for them to get acquainted through the barrier. Dont forget to keep multiple food and water stations so there's no squabbling if the new pair or your original girl decides to guard the bowls. If Barbara is really serious about keeping her space hers, switching them to opposite pens sometimes works to shake things up enough to change the head hens opinions on things. I've never heard of using an anti pick product to ease introduction, I've always used the cage inside the run/coop method and I've had very little trouble bringing new birds into the flock, even when I kept some pretty domineering girls. Anti-pick is more often used for deterring feather and wound picking but I can see the logic behind trying it for integrations. (I wouldn't trust it to do all the work, personally, maybe as an added tool though.)
Im sure some other members have a few more tips and hints to add come sun up, but I've officially run out of steam to work my brain! Best of luck with your new girls, and Barb of course! Don't hesitate to ask if there's anything else you need a hand with!

Thank you so much for your lovely response! It warms my heart to think of virtual strangers taking time out of their day to help me. I will let you know how things go. Ultimately, I don't have an extra coop to keep them separated, only a separate run and I can't keep Barb or the girls in there for too long as it hasn't got any roosting poles or anything in there. I notice that one of the new girls is very protective of her sister. I've seen her lift her wing to let her sister (who is just as big as she is) cuddle into her. it was so sweet to watch! My school kiddies are going to be sooooo overjoyed to see these new girls as they were very sad that the cockerels had to go