Bigrooster1
In the Brooder
- Feb 8, 2023
- 46
- 22
- 46
I would like some advice on what to do to introduce new ones to a flock.
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I did the look but no touch thing for quite sometime. Then i let them roam together for awhile and then seperated them again. Finally they were doing good so I took the barrier down but after awhile I noticed this chicken that had been pecked over very badly. That’s another question about what I should do for this chicken. I put some medicated dust on it for now until I get more advice. It doesn’t walk around and just stays puffed out like this all the time.Quarantine to help ensure you don't introduce new diseases to your existing flock.
Use a "look but don't touch" setup for long enough to ensure familiarity between the groups and to limit fighting (depends on the birds' personalities, but anywhere from a week to a month would be my initial estimate, and I'd go longer with youngsters who aren't mature enough to navigate social boundaries with aggressive adults).
Add extra feeders, waterers, + run "clutter" for new birds to use. More feeders and waterers means existing birds can't hoard resources and starve your fearful newbies out. Clutter is to hide or break line of sight with a bully and helps prevent serious injuries.
The more space you have and the more you can supervise, the smoother you can make the process, but you're still very much facilitating a process the birds need to do for themselves. As always, the greater the space you are working with, the safer the entire thing will be for everyone.