Introducing Hen to Flock

[smdcleland]

Hello everyone. My husband and I adopted a 3 year old Barred Rock today. She was the last of her flock. We'd like her to join our current flock of 7 Rhode Island Reds. We do not have a Rooster. I was wondering the proper way to introduce her. I've been reading about a lot of different suggestions and am not sure the best route to take. Thanks for any advice!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Besides the techniques most people will recommend, a couple things I noticed for you to consider.
A new adult bird should always be quarantined, as far from your flock as possible and as long as possible. Standard is 40 days.
It is always better to unite like numbers and like sizes. A single bird put into a flock of strangers will always be a problem.
Rhode Island Reds are known to be the bullies of a mixed flock. A single hen of a calm breed like Plymouth Rock could have a tough time making friends so you'll need to be ready for plan B.
Good luck with all that.

 

[Mrs. K]

Do not introduce one bird to an established flock of 7. That is a disaster, but there are ways to do this, but it will be a lot of monkeying around.

First, let all the old birds out of the coop/run set up and lock them out. Put a temporary nest near the gate, most will figure it out just fine. Lock the new bird in the coop/run. She can explore, find escapes, hide outs, and just figure out the place - let the others in late in the day, put her in a cage for protection in the coop. Rinse/repeat.

Day three- figure out who your middle birds are in the pecking order. Walk away from the flock and throw down a treat. The first birds are the top, and last birds are the bottom, and the ones in between are the middle, pick ONE of those. She goes in with the new bird back into the coop/run set up. This is the A pair. The others are still out in the yard.

Now there will be a dust up - but it is one on one, not 7 on one. And it should settle pretty quickly. Rinse and repeat. When you are pretty confident, pick a pair of the other middles to add to the A pair. Again, probably a mild dust up, but should settle quickly. If one of the B pair is very aggressive. Take her out and wait for a couple of days.

Now on a day you are going to be able to watch fairly closely, let them all mingle together out in the yard. I would expect this to go pretty easily. They have all been seeing each other for a week, they are all together at night, all though separated. ONCE in a while you will find a demon hen, that is merciless, and what is worse, she will lead others to attack. If so, pull her out and put her in the cage for several days.

If all else fails - you could put pin-less peepers on the mean birds.

Adding a single bird, is a big challenge, but it can be done, but it is a lot of monkeying around.

Mrs K

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Do not introduce one bird to an established flock of 7. That is a disaster, but there are ways to do this, but it will be a lot of monkeying around.

First, let all the old birds out of the coop/run set up and lock them out. Put a temporary nest near the gate, most will figure it out just fine. Lock the new bird in the coop/run. She can explore, find escapes, hide outs, and just figure out the place - let the others in late in the day, put her in a cage for protection in the coop. Rinse/repeat.

Day three- figure out who your middle birds are in the pecking order. Walk away from the flock and throw down a treat. The first birds are the top, and last birds are the bottom, and the ones in between are the middle, pick ONE of those. She goes in with the new bird back into the coop/run set up. This is the A pair. The others are still out in the yard.

Now there will be a dust up - but it is one on one, not 7 on one. And it should settle pretty quickly. Rinse and repeat. When you are pretty confident, pick a pair of the other middles to add to the A pair. Again, probably a mild dust up, but should settle quickly. If one of the B pair is very aggressive. Take her out and wait for a couple of days.

Now on a day you are going to be able to watch fairly closely, let them all mingle together out in the yard. I would expect this to go pretty easily. They have all been seeing each other for a week, they are all together at night, all though separated. ONCE in a while you will find a demon hen, that is merciless, and what is worse, she will lead others to attack. If so, pull her out and put her in the cage for several days.

If all else fails - you could put pin-less peepers on the mean birds.

Adding a single bird, is a big challenge, but it can be done, but it is a lot of monkeying around.

Mrs K

Good advice.
What will make matters worse is the mix of breeds.

 

[smdcleland]

Thank you both!

She is a very sweet hen. She is 3 years old and my current flock is almost 8 months. Apparently her flock was killed by a racoon and she was the only one left.

I hope when the time is right, they all learn to get along. I'll let you know how it goes.