Introducing new chickens

Chickenmama1115

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First time chicken owner, and will be adding new chickens to my flock soon. I’ve never done this before, how do I introduce new chickens to my current? I currently have two barred rock pullet, a silkie roo, and a D’uccle pullet. All are five months old. I will be adding a silkie pullet that is 4 to 5 months old. And five Rhode Island red pull it that are about two months old.
 
Do you have pictures of your chicken coop and run? How large is it?

Most people will use the "see-no-touch-method". Chickens are territorial and can seriously injure each other, so the goal is to introduce them safely over a period of time.

When I attempted to integrate, I used a 4x4-foot doggie playpen with hardware cloth cable-tied along the bottom foot (so no one could reach in and injure the chicks). This allowed lots of face-to-face interaction between the two groups. I also encouraged them to eat close together and offered treats for positive association.

Once the birds start to lose interest and ignore each other (which can take a few days), I'll test the waters. There needs to be lots of space, lots of clutter, and multiple feed/water stations. The pecking order will come into play, and the newcomers will be smacked and chased a bit. They need to be able to escape (hence the clutter to run behind). I do monitor during this time. I don't want to see any sort of relentless pursuit or full-blown fighting. If that happens, we go back to the playpen separation and try again once things settle down.

It can be a slow going. I've seen people just throw birds together and have it work out. I've also seen gruesome injuries from rushed integration. My chickens are my pets, so I play it conservatively.

I'm sure you'll hear from others with more details, but I hope this helps give a general idea of the process.
 
First thing I'd be concerned about is bringing in any disease or parasites to your existing flock. Are you set up to quarantine the new birds for a while so you can be sure they're not bringing anything in? This is a pretty stressful time for them so their immunity will be low. Last thing you want as a new chicken owner is to lose birds to something that could have been prevented. I've been there myself.
 

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