Introducing new chickens

[Marisa14]

I lost my beloved Goldie (gold laced Wyandotte) the other day and now all I’m left with is daisy, my black Orpington and Lexie, my white Orpington. A friend of mine has a blue and a lavender orpington she said I could have... I’m a bit worried about how they will go with my other 2??

 

[DobieLover]

I lost my beloved Goldie (gold laced Wyandotte) the other day and now all I’m left with is daisy, my black Orpington and Lexie, my white Orpington. A friend of mine has a blue and a lavender orpington she said I could have... I’m a bit worried about how they will go with my other 2??

Can you describe your current set up? Coop and run size in feet x feet? Where, what and how do you feed? Posting pictures would be great!
Where are you located in the world? You can post that general information in your profile so it shows on your posts so people know your general climate at a glance.
Bringing 2 new chickens in with 2 existing chickens shouldn't be too bad.
If you are certain that the 2 new ones are healthy, then you can forego the quarantine period and just start out with a 'look-don't-touch' phase and move on from there. Once you describe your current chicken set up, it will be easier to offer advice.

 

[Marisa14]

Ok... I am in New Zealand, so it is warm here at the moment. I have a coop suitable for 8 chickens but also have a free range fenced off area for them measuring approximately 10m x 8m so they have plenty of room. I feed layer pellets mixed with a grain chook food in a chookateria. I hope this helps!

 

[DobieLover]

Ok... I am in New Zealand, so it is warm here at the moment. I have a coop suitable for 8 chickens but also have a free range fenced off area for them measuring approximately 10m x 8m so they have plenty of room. I feed layer pellets mixed with a grain chook food in a chookateria. I hope this helps!

You don't have any pictures of the coop? That would be best.
When you say it is suitable for 8 chickens is that because it is about 2.3 to 3 sq meters or is it a pre-fabricated coop and that is what was stated on the box? Is it a walk-in style? (This is why the pictures would help! )
Is any area of their fenced-in run under solid cover to protect it from rain or is it all open?

 

[Marisa14]

The coop itself is 106x107cm which is roughly 1m squared. I have the run part of the coop covered in winter and am going to get a seperate shelter for them as well

 

[DobieLover]

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The coop itself is 106x107cm which is roughly 1m squared. I have the run part of the coop covered in winter and am going to get a seperate shelter for them as well

You cannot keep 8 birds in that coop. It is a very common piece of misinformation that is often included with those pre-fab coops unfortunately.

If you could make the half of the pre-fab run that is furthest from the ramp predator and rain proof, you could put the two new girls in there with a perch for roosting, food and water and a covered nest box. Basically a small coop within that run. It's the security issue that might be a challenge. I don't know what kind of predators you deal with there.

If you decide to do this, you will need to have Corid on hand and watch for signs of coccidiosis in both sub-flocks as they can expose each other to the strains they carry but have developed immunity to.

 

[Erika Koehn]

How do u introduce chicks that r like six weeks old ... or do u have to wait till they r older?

 

[Marisa14]

Ooh 6 weeks, how cute! I’m not too sure about that one... I’m new to the adding of the chickens world too! I am hoping to add some of a similar age to mine in about 6 months time so I’d be interested to know how you get along. Good luck

 

[Marisa14]

You cannot keep 8 birds in that coop. It is a very common piece of misinformation that is often included with those pre-fab coops unfortunately.

If you could make the half of the pre-fab run that is furthest from the ramp predator and rain proof, you could put the two new girls in there with a perch for roosting, food and water and a covered nest box. Basically a small coop within that run. It's the security issue that might be a challenge. I don't know what kind of predators you deal with there.

If you decide to do this, you will need to have Corid on hand and watch for signs of coccidiosis in both sub-flocks as they can expose each other to the strains they carry but have developed immunity to.

Oh no, I would never keep 8-10 chickens in there! That’s crazy!?
Thanks, I will keep that in mind. The run is totally secure, there is a door on it that locks and I’ve never had or heard of any problems in my area with predators!

 

[Erika Koehn]

Ooh 6 weeks, how cute! I’m not too sure about that one... I’m new to the adding of the chickens world too! I am hoping to add some of a similar age to mine in about 6 months time so I’d be interested to know how you get along. Good luck

They r actually not that cute... (in my opinion) they are kinda scruffy looking but I think we r gonna wait a bit