how hard is it to introduce new birds into the flock ?? .......... I'm wanting to try some black copper marans ......... how young can you put the new birds in with the old birds ????
depends on your birds and how happy they are. I was scared about it from reading alot of posts and seeing people with real problems, but I noticed most of those having issues didn't have alot of room for their birds either. I had (3) 6 month old when I introduced 20 new chicks in my flock 8 weeks old at the time. There was no problem then. Later when Those ones got to be 3 months old I got (5) more 6 week old chicks. I was worried but they got along fine. I kept the little ones in the coop their first week while I let the big ones out. I have had no problems. My birds free range all day and the coop they sleep in at night is over 2000 ft cubic volume
Its easier if they can meet through a fence for a while. Like put up a temporary pen inside your main coop or run and put the new chickens in there. After a while they'll stop paying them attention. When I introduced my RIRS to my blue cross hens I let them all free range for the day and it went incredibly smooth. No problems at all but they had been penned right next to one another for quite a few weeks.
Quote:well tell us the breed because some breeds are more aggressive than others like silkies are very calm, frindly and docile...they are known to be good mothers & have been noted to take care of ducklings also but other hens of the bigger brreds bully the bantms and can kill other breed cicks or ducklings.
the breeds are listed at the bottom of my post ............ and the bottom of this one ............ my signature !!! .......... 8^)
I raised baby chicks in the same henhouse as the old girls -- but I sectioned off part of it with chickenwire. When the babies were big enough to start venturing outside, I cut & folded back a small piece of the wire (like you'd make a creep feeder). The babies learned VERY QUICKLY to use that door -- it kept the hens out of the chick starter, and the babies would go into their pen to rest or get away from the hens. Eventually I removed the wire altogether, and everyone got along fine. There's always some picking on the little ones, but they're tough, and when they grew up, the young ones were holding their own with no problem. Wendy
I created a seperate coop inside the coop for the new chicks. After they reached 4 week I allowed the baby into the run with the older girls. I would coop them up in their own pen at night. Newbies are 8 weeks old now and have intergraded nicely with the older girls.
Interesting. My 6, 9 week old chicks will soon be introduced to 2, 3 month old pullets. There are some feisty, possessive darlings in my bunch so that will be interesting. I think it might be a gradual introduction. I hear that this is when you can tell cockerels from pullets. The cockerels will go for the older hens/pullets?