Introducing a new hen to the flock

[Kelliekevin]

Hi All!

I was wondering if I would be able to introduce a new chicken to my hens without them killling her? I would like to get another breed and add her to my flock, I would get a ready to lay bird of course because I know my girls would kill a chick. I also know that they would show her who's boss but I just want to make sure it would be ok to do so. I have 3 Red Sexlinks and I would like to add another type of breed but I'm not sure what type. I'm open to suggestions. I live in Ontario Canada and our winters are getting brutaly cold so I would need a hardy breed and a good egg layer.

Thanks in advance for your help my chicken peeps!

 

[lazy gardener]

Kellie, How big is your coop and run? I'd recommend that if you have at least 4 s.f. in the coop, and 10 s.f. in the run to accommodate the finished size of your flock (after adding the new) you could add to it. However, my recommendation is to add at least 2 new birds. Adding a single bird is very hard on the newbie. 2 birds can buddy up, and share the torment that will be dished their way. No matter how you do it, do it slowly, letting them see each other through a fence for a while, then letting them free range together (if you do that), then putting them together in the coop. Do you have a place to quarantine the new girls for a month before integrating them? Bringing new birds into an existing flock is risky business. Please check out the threads regarding how to quarantine before deciding to add to your flock.

 

[Kelliekevin]

Hi Lazy Gardener!

Thanks so much for your reply! Yes my coup and run are huge so that's not a worry. But I don't have the space to quarantine them or keep them seperated for the first while. I guess we will just stick with the 3 that we have already.

Thanks for your help!