Integrating new adult chicken

[LER23]

Here goes:
I just caught a beautiful adult hen (looks like a gold-laced Wyandotte) and am planning to integrate. She is pretty wild, as she has been living on the streets. I posted in local facebook pages about her, but no one claimed her.
I have a run that is attached to the coop/shed, and am keeping her there, with a large dog kennel covered with a tarp, with vinyl flooring on the bottom with deep litter. Also, I made a roost by putting a bare branch through the kennel wire.
So I think she will be o.k. for a couple of weeks, though I think she is upset due to leaving a clutch of eggs some where. I couldn't find where her eggs were, despite spending quite some time hunting. Question #1: Have I missed anything, as far as her comfort goes? (Note-she has food and water, and oyster shells, so that's cared for, and she is eating just fine).
Now for the meat of the problem: I don't know how to integrate. Yesterday was the first day my new girl and my flock met through the fence. I am keeping the coop/shed closed off from the enclosed run but the flock has a big backyard to free range in. My olive egger and my new girl tried to fight through the fence. My other 4, 2 production blue, 1 white leghorn, and 1 cream legbar, seem to be ignoring new girl. I think the pb's will be mean, as they chase the legbar and threaten her, but so far they are not interested in new girl. Leghorn and Legbar seem like they will be pretty easygoing about it all. My questions: How long to keep them completely separated before working on introductions? Would it be a good idea to work on integrating a few at a time-I am thinking that it might help to separate my Egger at first, because I think she might be a ringleader, encouraging the rest of the flock to attack the new girl. Should I keep them separated at night, if the integration seems to be going ok? I don't expect them to ever be buddies, and from what I have read about Wyandottes I might have trouble with new girl trying to be boss-if this is the case, do I even have a chance of getting her to be part of the flock?
What else should I be thinking about or doing, please?
Pics are of new girl. One shows her facing off with my Egger.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Debbie292d]

To reduce the possibility of integrating chickens with diseases or afflictions like mites/lice, it's recommended to isolate minimally two weeks and many suggest a month.

As for the time you put her with the others, one thought is put her in the coop at night on a roost next to them. They wake up and there she is may be less intrusive than just putting her in the run with them. It's worth a try anyway! Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

Quarantine is hard to do in a truly backyard set up, and you are past that - so don't worry about it. Do check for lice and mites! Especially if she has been living on th streets.

Pick you middle of the pecking order chicken. Not the bottom and not the top. Put her in the run with her. One on one - should be a bit of bluster, but it should settle soon. Keep them together for 3-4 days.

Then, add two to the two. Again, might be a bit of bluster, but should settle, if there is no blood, let them work it out. Keep this group together 2-3 days.

Then add the top hens...sometimes there will be a really wicked hen, and she will lead others into the attack, if so - she goes in the crate.

But if the new bird and the added birds can go in and explore the coop, I would turn them all outside the coop and run, in the backyard, maybe an hour before dark, and generally they will all go to the coop to roost.

A lot of times, people make this take forever, by interfering too much...but on the other hand, once in a while you will get a bird that just will not fit in the set up. Always solve for peace in the flock.

Mrs K

 

[LER23]

Quarantine is hard to do in a truly backyard set up, and you are past that - so don't worry about it. Do check for lice and mites! Especially if she has been living on th streets.

Pick you middle of the pecking order chicken. Not the bottom and not the top. Put her in the run with her. One on one - should be a bit of bluster, but it should settle soon. Keep them together for 3-4 days.

Then, add two to the two. Again, might be a bit of bluster, but should settle, if there is no blood, let them work it out. Keep this group together 2-3 days.

Then add the top hens...sometimes there will be a really wicked hen, and she will lead others into the attack, if so - she goes in the crate.

But if the new bird and the added birds can go in and explore the coop, I would turn them all outside the coop and run, in the backyard, maybe an hour before dark, and generally they will all go to the coop to roost.

A lot of times, people make this take forever, by interfering too much...but on the other hand, once in a while you will get a bird that just will not fit in the set up. Always solve for peace in the flock.

Mrs K

Not sure of the pecking order, except that my OE is the most aggressive toward New Girl, of all of them.

Here is what happened just about 4 hours ago:
I had to sequester New Girl at the back of the coop run by the dog kennel I was using as her temporary digs, using some portable dog fencing as a separator. I then put my 4 girls into the rest of the chicken run so I could throw dogs in the backyard. Everything looked good, we went in to eat dinner, and when I came back out the new girl had flown over the temporary fencing and was strutting up and down the run. My leghorn had gotten up on the dog kennel, apparently to get away from New Girl. The others, my Production Blues, the Olive Egger and the Cream Legbar, were milling around in a tight little group by the run gate. It was obvious that there had been an altercation and it looked like New Girl won. No one was hurt as far as I could tell (I will know more tomorrow when I can examine more thoroughly) ,but my OE def ad some pulled and ruffled feathers on her thigh. I got the posse out in the free range are and left New Girl to herself in the run.
Since they have all met face to face, should I take the chicken by the comb, so to speak, and try letting New Girl into the free range area with the rest of my chickens tomorrow morning? I would try putting New Girl in with them at night but there are issues with that, which I have not worked out fixes for as yet. Your thoughts, please?

 

[Mrs. K]

Yes, I am not a great believer in keeping them separate and introducing slow. But a big problem comes with territory. Chickens will defend territory.

But you are past that now, and it has happened to me too. And I just went with it.

I would let everyone out to free range. Maybe with a squirt gun, to break things up if it becomes violent - but truthfully, I think you are past this. What I think will happen, is they will naturally come in and roost together.

HOWEVER, do remember when I am giving you this advice, I am thinking of my own coop and run. Not yours... so do you have roosts, hide outs, mini walls, pallets up on blocks or leaned against the wall or corner of the run? I call it clutter, and it really allows birds to get away from each other and out of sight is out of mind. Do search a cluttered run, where I and other people show more interesting set ups than a bare open run that a lot of people have.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

I have multiple feed stations set up so that birds eating at one spot cannot be seen by birds eating at another sight. I generally have one for every 3-4 birds, but while introducing birds, more is better.


To be honest I think you are over the worst of it.

Mrs K

 

[LER23]

Yes, I am not a great believer in keeping them separate and introducing slow. But a big problem comes with territory. Chickens will defend territory.

But you are past that now, and it has happened to me too. And I just went with it.

I would let everyone out to free range. Maybe with a squirt gun, to break things up if it becomes violent - but truthfully, I think you are past this. What I think will happen, is they will naturally come in and roost together.

HOWEVER, do remember when I am giving you this advice, I am thinking of my own coop and run. Not yours... so do you have roosts, hide outs, mini walls, pallets up on blocks or leaned against the wall or corner of the run? I call it clutter, and it really allows birds to get away from each other and out of sight is out of mind. Do search a cluttered run, where I and other people show more interesting set ups than a bare open run that a lot of people have.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

I have multiple feed stations set up so that birds eating at one spot cannot be seen by birds eating at another sight. I generally have one for every 3-4 birds, but while introducing birds, more is better.


To be honest I think you are over the worst of it.

Mrs K

You were right, the worst is over. They all seem fine now, but for the life of me I can't figure out where my new girl roosts at night. I checked on all of them about a half hour before dusk and she was foraging with the other girls, and less than 45 minutes later they were all settling into their roost spots, but no New Girl. Not in the chicken house, not in the dog kennel where she lays her eggs, not in the yard, not in the dog run. My husband thinks she hops the fence and goes back to where she was living when I caught her (just around the corner-our back yards touch). Is this possible? This is her 3rd night with us, and 2nd night that she should have roosted with the others. So 2 nights of going somewhere else at night, one day of returning to hang out with the flock. We will see if she shows back up tomorrow.