Introducing new chickens

[Mrs. K]

You are more than doubling your flock. And you must remember, what is more than enough room for chicks, rapidly becomes not enough room when they are full grown.

Are all the birds you are getting in the same flock now? Or are the new birds strangers to each other? I would be so surprised if the RIR and the Silkie pullet are together? It just so often does not work. If they are strangers, well, you need to keep them separate too.

Also, while individual birds have individual characteristics, there are some rules of thumbs. RIR tend to dominant birds, and they will be the largest group in your 'flock'. They will be much bigger as they are full size birds.

Some people can get full sized birds and bantam birds to work well together, so it can be tried, but a lot of people wind up separating the big girls from the little birds as they are picked on just too much.

I would consider, having a barred rock, and RIR flock, and then keep the little birds in another flock.

But mostly, hugely important is the size of your set up. For 10 birds, I would want at least a coop of 40 square feet. So say, a 5 x 8 foot coup. I prefer a walk in coop. The run should be 100 square feet with a lot of clutter inside it.

Really - I would not add this combination. I think it is going to go badly.

Mrs K

 

[Chickenmama1115]

Excellent questions.

You do not get guarantees with living animals. I've had siblings, chicks hatched together and being raised by a broody hen, kill each other. I've had 8-week-old chicks kill 2-week-old chicks when they got separated from a a broody hen and were trapped in their pen where the broody could not protect them. There are stories on this forum where older chicks took younger chicks under their wing to help raise them. I've had 3-week-old chicks weaned by a broody hen that made their own way in the flock. I regularly integrate 5-week-old chicks with adults. I cannot tell you what will happen when you try to integrate yours. I do firmly believe that the more room they have the better your chances. What I usually see is the younger forming a separate flock and avoiding the older ones, day and night. It helps to have widely separated feeding and watering stations so they can eat and drink without having to intermingle. That's why asking how much room you have is an excellent question.


How much room do you have and what do your facilities look like?

I don’t know exact measurements. We have a pretty decent run (it’s built off the small barn which is a 1.5 car garage size. So it’s as long as the garage and probably 10-12 ft wide) and the coop is big enough for 4 boxes. 3 feeders and waters and I cluttered it up with an old ladder, logs, an old metal side table, barrels.

 

[Chickenmama1115]

You are more than doubling your flock. And you must remember, what is more than enough room for chicks, rapidly becomes not enough room when they are full grown.

Are all the birds you are getting in the same flock now? Or are the new birds strangers to each other? I would be so surprised if the RIR and the Silkie pullet are together? It just so often does not work. If they are strangers, well, you need to keep them separate too.

Also, while individual birds have individual characteristics, there are some rules of thumbs. RIR tend to dominant birds, and they will be the largest group in your 'flock'. They will be much bigger as they are full size birds.

Some people can get full sized birds and bantam birds to work well together, so it can be tried, but a lot of people wind up separating the big girls from the little birds as they are picked on just too much.

I would consider, having a barred rock, and RIR flock, and then keep the little birds in another flock.

But mostly, hugely important is the size of your set up. For 10 birds, I would want at least a coop of 40 square feet. So say, a 5 x 8 foot coup. I prefer a walk in coop. The run should be 100 square feet with a lot of clutter inside it.

Really - I would not add this combination. I think it is going to go badly.

Mrs K

I currently have my barred rocks with a silkie bantam and porcelain D’uccle and they get along just fine. If anything the silkie picks on the D’uccle at times. The birds I’m getting are from the same person just kept in separate coops. The reds are the youngest and smallest right now, so I’m hoping by adding them now, they will learn the pecking order and be ok.