I need to hear a flock integration SUCCESS story

[Chicken daze(d)]

ERnoleGuy: Thanks for requesting this post. I just bought a 4 month old pullet and need her to get along with my two 3 month old girls quickly (even though I've heard I should quarentine the new one). Of course I'm a little concerned, especially b/c I don't want her to be by herself for too long. It's nice to know it can be done and done well.

 

[ERnoleGuy]

Chicken daze(d) :

ERnoleGuy: Thanks for requesting this post. I just bought a 4 month old pullet and need her to get along with my two 3 month old girls quickly (even though I've heard I should quarentine the new one). Of course I'm a little concerned, especially b/c I don't want her to be by herself for too long. It's nice to know it can be done and done well.

I'm glad to know someone else is in the same boat as me. I wish you the best of luck. Keep me updated. I'll do the same.​

 

[phoenixmama]

I've had good luck with this method:

Wait until it's dark and all the "original" chickens are on a roost. Quietly put the new ones in with the original chickens. It is as if they all wake up the next morning and think that's how it was all along.

 

[Chicken daze(d)]

Will this work even if I only have 2 original chickens and add a 3rd. I can see if it was a bigger flock.

Also, my DH and I had this hair-brained (harebrained?) idea of putting wire down the middle of the coop, just for night time. (Day time we have a seperate area for the new girl but there's no sleeping quarters for her.) Will this work?

Sorry I'm stealing the thread.

 

[Vanessabuffsnsilkies]

I integrated 4 older pullets in with my silkies and younger b/o chicks. The older pullets were a month older and close to the same size. Started with 2 weeks quarantine, then 4 weeks in a portable pen with a crate(coop) next door to the original pen. The new ones eventually just free ranged around the pen with the younger ones. One day I just opened up the gate to the pen. There was a little squabbling and pecking. Lasted a couple of weeks. Now they all play very well together.

Now I have 4 EEs that I kept in the portable pen during the day with a little shelter, then put them in a cage inside the coop at night. The last few days I have opened the cage door inside just enough for them to go in and out but no one else can get in there. They come and go and have learned to steer clear of the bigger chickens. All has been pretty smooth. Thought it was going to be a nightmare but all the extra work was well worth it.

 

[verlaj]

I have had to mix young pullets with mature hens twice - both times this worked with no problems at all.

I had both groups in the same open air coop (Florida style coop!) with a mesh divider between them. They could see each other through the mesh and interact a little. After a couple of days, I let them all out together - out into the "run" which is actually a large fenced veggie garden. No problems at all. A little crabbiness from the hens maybe at roosting time when a young one was encroaching on the best roosting spot, but only a little disciplining was handed out by the hens - no injuries, no bullying. I had 5 watering spots and 4 feeders for almost 50 birds, so there was opportunity for all.

Your situation is a little different because the chickens are closer in age, so the "ranks" of the individuals might be contested a little more. I actually had more of a problem with bullying among the young ones, which were only separated by a week in age, but were of several different breeds and had a big variation in size and attitude. I made sure they had a lot of space, cover for the low ranking chicks (a place to be able to rest unmolested), and things to do - like peck on plants, etc. Before I felt able to let the young ones out in the garden, I gave them big bunches of plants, cabbages cut in half, corn on the cob (stalk stuck in the wire walls), melon rinds, and so on, to keep them occupied a little.

Good luck!

 

[debilorrah]

See my BYC page - this method has worked for us over and over again.

 

[Dar]

I have not had any problems integrating my flocks first with adding 2 EE's and then with adding 2 silkies

i did add at night... i was once told by someone here that chickens cant count and adding at night was best.. lol

 

[wegotchickens]

I try to put the newbies in the coop for a few days and put the oldtimers into temp housing. Then when I add the big kids back in, the newbies know where everything is and are comfortable in the environment. Seems like there's no real problems at all when I do it that way.

I have a small flock; I know not everyone can move the oldtimers out for a few days...

 

[FaereChicken]

I added 2 4 month old pullets to a year old hen (last one left) They stayed in a wire kennel during the day, and I put them all in the nest box at night. It only took about 3 days for the older hen to lighten up.
Next I'll try it with one or 2 more newbies and 3 established.