Incorporating new birds, is this progress?

[ILChickenTV]

I finally incorporated these four white rocks this morning. They’ve been in view of each other for about two months now, but my Rhode Island red still consistently picks on them and has them cowering in the corner underneath the henhouse. There’s no blood or feather damage to what I can tell, but I’m really hoping that this eventually subsides and they walk around freely throughout the run. I do have Separate food and water set up for them so that they can stay away from each other, and I also hung a couple slices of cheese to keep the older hens occupied. Is there anything else I should do now? Or do I just have to wait?

 

[grayjay11o]

Have you tried putting the red in a cage in the pen so she can see the new chicken, but not attack them.

 

[ILChickenTV]

No, and with my current set up I think the only feasible way to do that would be to put her under the henhouse, which is where she’s corralling all the other ones.

 

[ILChickenTV]

Have you tried putting the red in a cage in the pen so she can see the new chicken, but not attack them.

Actually yes now. I found a piece of panel that I used to quarter off the end of the run.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How much run space do they have? I can't imagine the photo shows the entire space, does it?

 

[ILChickenTV]

How much run space do they have? I can't imagine the photo shows the entire space, does it?

I added an extension a while back, yes. They have a lot more space.
an older pic

 

[ILChickenTV]

Actually yes now. I found a piece of panel that I used to quarter off the end of the run.

As an update, the panel got knocked down, but they seem to be adjusting alright. I'm assuming it's best to keep them all in till they sort themselves out? I feel like I'll just lose program by letting them roam the backyard.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I added an extension a while back, yes. They have a lot more space.

Looks pretty tight still, in large part because it's narrow. Do you normally free range or are they usually in the run?

If you're not seeing pecking/chasing problems, that's a good start, but keep an eye on where the new birds are spending their time - you really don't want them just hiding under the coop, or conversely huddled on the far end either.

In regards to a narrow run, I wrote this for a different post but it may be relevant here:

While birds in a (let's say) 4x10 run could theoretically get about 10 3/4' away from each other, an issue could arise when the birds try to pass by each other. With only 4' of width that's close enough that a bossy bird could take offense at a low ranked bird trying to squeeze by to get to the coop, or to a feeder.

 

[RW1984]

Looks pretty tight still, in large part because it's narrow. Do you normally free range or are they usually in the run?

i was thinking along the same lines, I would try to make that run wider. For 4-8 birds(guessing how many you have is 6 but not certain) that’s really tight living quarters.
imagine if you lived with even 3 other people and yourliving room was the size of a hallway 3 ft wide and 20 ft long. There’s gonna be some frayed nerves real quick.
I admit I don’t know your situation and spacing availability. However as guardians of our chickens we owe it to them to provide adequate spacing. I think if I remember correctly the general rule of thumb is 6-10 sq ft per bird outside in a run. While 2-6 sq ft inside the coop is advised, preferably erring on the high side of the numbers.
Doing so will likely result in much happier birds, better eggs, and less conflicts between them.

 

[ILChickenTV]

Do you normally free range or are they usually in the run?

I do let them out a few hours most days, but there are some lengths of time they go without that level of freedom.

I admit I don’t know your situation and spacing availability. However as guardians of our chickens we owe it to them to provide adequate spacing.

Yeah, this is a mid-urban backyard in Chicago, and not only mine at that. The kids need space to play, too. Granted we weren't initially planning on keeping this many of the new batch, and I'm kinda playing it by ear as far as whether or not to pass along any more.