Introducing New Chicken

[Racbino]

Hi all. Question for you - I’m a newbie to all this and still learning, so kindness and constructive criticism is appreciated. We have 2 started pullets who have been established in their coop for a couple of weeks. We got an extra started pullet last night (2 months old) and we were advised to add her to the coop after dusk and the existing couple should accept her. I should add, this chicken was from the same farm (veterinarian owned) and was vaccinated, so I trusted the vet’s suggestion and didn’t quarantine. Well, this morning I went to check on them and the newcomer has some blood on her beak. I feel awful. So I separated her into her own dog kennel with food/water, keeping her in the run so she’s still nearby the others. I was advised by the vet to try to reintroduce to the coop tonight once they’re sleeping. Like usual, I’m reading conflicting things online that says introductions should always be closely monitored. What do y’all think? Also, should I treat her little beak? Or will it heal fine on its own? And last, now I’m paranoid about the quarantine thing (and if the newcomer was sick, I’m sure the damage may have already been done), but the new gal is kinda closing her eyes at times. Do chickens do that when they’re scared? And is it too late to quarantine?

 

[piminuse]

Let's address the blood first: if it's dried up then try to use a damp q-tip/paper towel to gently dab or wipe it off. It will impact integration if you decide to continue trying to sneak her in at night as red is a big PECK HERE sign on birds.

If you really, really wanna crash course it then there is the chance your new bird will continue to be ganged up on. Imagine going to bed one night and waking up with a complete stranger next to you saying that they're your roommate. Not fun. That's what your established girls have going on right now and are not super stoked about it. It can be done, but there may be bloodshed in the process.

Most people would recommend a gradual introduction with the "see, but don't touch" method of containing the new chicken in its own enclosure within or close by the established flock coop/run. I would do this for at least a week so they get used to the new bird's presence. After that you can do supervised trips to the run where all birds interact and the pecking order is established. The downsides to this method are that you need a crate/fence or some sort on hand, the bird will be only and it can take a long time to fully integrate.

Luck is on your side that this is a small # of chickens and they're relatively young, so you may be able to get this done faster with a little less pecking regardless of your method, but for the ultimate in caution I would consider the SBDT.

Good luck!

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

X2 with @piminuse
I introduce new birds by having them next door where they can see each other and interact without having to really be together. Then I let them out together for more and more time and it usually goes smoothly. Since your birds are so young, I’d probably won’t take as long as it usually would.

 

[black_cat]

I would also recommend doing a see but don't touch method. You can portion off part of the run with hardware cloth, chicken wire, etc. Put new pullet in that section and allow them to interact like that for a few days.

 

[Racbino]

Let's address the blood first: if it's dried up then try to use a damp q-tip/paper towel to gently dab or wipe it off. It will impact integration if you decide to continue trying to sneak her in at night as red is a big PECK HERE sign on birds.

If you really, really wanna crash course it then there is the chance your new bird will continue to be ganged up on. Imagine going to bed one night and waking up with a complete stranger next to you saying that they're your roommate. Not fun. That's what your established girls have going on right now and are not super stoked about it. It can be done, but there may be bloodshed in the process.

Most people would recommend a gradual introduction with the "see, but don't touch" method of containing the new chicken in its own enclosure within or close by the established flock coop/run. I would do this for at least a week so they get used to the new bird's presence. After that you can do supervised trips to the run where all birds interact and the pecking order is established. The downsides to this method are that you need a crate/fence or some sort on hand, the bird will be only and it can take a long time to fully integrate.

Luck is on your side that this is a small # of chickens and they're relatively young, so you may be able to get this done faster with a little less pecking regardless of your method, but for the ultimate in caution I would consider the SBDT.

Good luck!

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I’ll wait a week before I put her back in the coop. Poor thing looked pretty scared this morning. Should I bother quarantining the newcomer since I already exposed them?

 

[piminuse]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I’ll wait a week before I put her back in the coop. Poor thing looked pretty scared this morning. Should I bother quarantining the newcomer since I already exposed them?

If you trust the person you bought them from that they don't have any illnesses like Marek's then it should be OK. Another thing to watch out for though would be your current yard/birds potentially having a strain of coccidiosis that the new one doesn't. It's always useful to have CORID on hand in case of outbreaks, or you can use medicated feed to help the new bird build up immunity.

 

[Racbino]

If you trust the person you bought them from that they don't have any illnesses like Marek's then it should be OK. Another thing to watch out for though would be your current yard/birds potentially having a strain of coccidiosis that the new one doesn't. It's always useful to have CORID on hand in case of outbreaks, or you can use medicated feed to help the new bird build up immunity.

Okay, good to know. I’ll grab some CORID just in case. Appreciate the help! Thanks so much and have a great weekend!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Should I bother quarantining the newcomer since I already exposed them?

Anything the newcomer (or your flock) might have has already been passed back and forth, so medical quarantine is moot at this point.

 

[aart]

Here's some tips about.....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.
Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[HomesteaderWife]

As mentioned above, but in my own way saying this, try to imagine some stranger shows up at your house and tries to move in! There's bound to be some rough patches in integrating them, but the see-don't-touch method is great. Let them grow more comfortable with the company of one another.