integrating polish hen with flock

[abooot99]

Hi all,
This Sat I will be getting a 2-3 month old polish hen. Right now, I have a flock of (8) 18 week olds that are bantam. I have one polish hen, one silkie hen, one showgirl hen, one frizzle cochin hen, a cochin rooster, a standard salmon favorolles hen, and two mutts. These are supposedly mild mannered given their breeds. They do minimal picking on the polish hen I have.
What should I do as far as integration. My birds free range. They have a 8x4 coop and a good size run to use if I can't have them out.

Any advise as far as what I should do. I also have in the coop right now (3) 3 week old guinaes in a tank on the coop floor. I am afraid it will be stressful for her to be by herself as she is leaving her flock. She is very healthy but is smaller due to age than my flock. Should I keep her in a cage in the coop for a while?
I worry she will be lonely. Should I take my sweet silkie and place her in with her so she isn't alone. How long do I keep her seperated from the rest?
Any input would be great!
Thanks
Amanda

 

[abooot99]

does anyone have any advice?

 

[lalaland]

sorry to be short, but I'm too tired from pickeling to be sweeter:
1. quarantine. do a search on this site to see why
2. after quarantine, introduce by keeping her nearby in sight of other chickens - separate with chickenwire, wire fence, etc
3. when no signs of aggression exist, start feeding treats on both sides of the wire separating them
4. when you do introduce, let the new one explore the run while the others are locked up in the coop.
5. after a couple of hours, let the others out into the run. supervise this. throw treats on ground (scratch) to keep everyone busy so they don't bully
6. make sure there are multiple feed and water stations
7. try not to intervene unless there is blood
8. be prepared to help the new one into the coop for quite some time

you can do a search on "integrating" or "adding" or "mixing" and you'll find a ton of good advice

good luck