How long will it take my other three girls to accept her into the peaking order? I have two RIR who are 26 weeks and laying everyday and also a silkie x who is 22 weeks. The two bigger girls aren't being very nice at the moment they're even stopping the other two from eating. Is there anything I can do?
Hi! Sometimes it takes a week or so to settle the pecking order. I would suggest setting up an extra feeding station so your new chicken can get food and water. You could also partition off an area where the young one can escape if it feels the need. That is easily done with some chicken wire. Just cut a hole big enough for the little one to get through but too small for the bigger ones. Everything should be fine. Just keep in mind, if they peck her hard enough to make her bleed, remove her immediately until she heals. Chickens can be brutal when one is injured. Good luck getting your new girl settled in. She will be part of the flock in no time.
Integrating a single new bird into a small flock can be extremely difficult and it may take a lot longer then a week. I've gotten to the point where I just won't do it anymore, just to much hassle. If you can fence off part of the run for her so she can be next to them all day long every day that would be a good idea. RIR's especially can be aggressive. Once things settle down a bit you might try putting the older birds in with the young one one at a time. Start with the silkie then after a few days put in the lower ranking RIR and see how things go. You will definitely need additional feeding stations as mentioned. As for the silkie, things may always be a bit rough for her in this flock since she is probably lowest on the totem pole as well as looking different. Watch them carefully.
Actually, she isn't in the flock at all.She's a loner.Who is your lead hen?You will not see friendly attitude for at least the next 3-6 days.Lead hens cause madness an d often if they do not like the new comer for some stupid reason or a smart reason they'll even fight to the death.You shouldn't worry.Intergratting birds at nights way better, or even just free ranging.I would go to my How to integrate birds forum.Lots of into.
Thaanks. Ive utilized an old bunny run and closed up the door with chicken wire. Put food and water in. Shes been in there twice now so thats good she can in and out to get away. Thanks heaps! Will keep an eye out for bad behavior.
Great solution! Do you free range or are they in an enclosed run? Might want to make sure there are other places for the littler to hide out of line of sight or up and away from the biggers. Hopefully by the time the littler won't fit into her oasis, she'll have integrated with the other 2.