Introducing new hen

[Squirrelletta]

OK, so my coop's almost done and a store near me has chicks I'd like to purchase 2 of (white leg and a aracuna? (sp? One of the EE'ers I think you guys call em) and a guy up the road sells some Buff Orping's that I'd like to have one of. The BO is 10 weeks and the store has hens that are young, but don't need the light (pullets?)

CAN I BUY 2 CHICKS AND THE BUFF OR. AND PUT THEM TOGETHER IN THE COOP RIGHT AWAY?

I know I've heard chickens will kill each other, but if they are from different areas, ages and new to thenew home, are they still aggressive to hens they haven't met? Am I making any sense? LOL

What is the rule of thumb?

Thanks! I'm new obviously!

 

[Mahonri]

Babies shouldn't be put with adults until they are about 16 weeks old.

 

[Squirrelletta]

Where can I find the "age" groups.

Whats considered an adult, whats a pullet (someone said a chemically castrated roo?!?! I thought it was just an age description!) Yikes.

The Buff Orping is only 10 weeks, not an adult, can she go with the slightly younger 2 hens?

 

[Country Heart]

When I put together my microflock, I put together one 16-week old, one 12-week old and two ten-week old pullets. After a short time of introduction, everyone settled into their order nicely. They settled out in age order and have remained that way. I think ideally you would want them all to be within a few weeks of each other, but this age spread worked out fine for me.

Welcome to the club.

 

[pixie74943]

Hen ='s Female chicken over a year
Pullet ='s Female chicken under a year

Rooster ='s Male chicken over a year
Cockeral ='s Male chicken under a year

Capon is a castrated cockeral. In theory they grow faster and can be butchered earlier, but I've never seen anyone suggest it. Most people say its a waste of effort and doesnt have enough growth to make it worth the suffering on the bird.



Basically, you're waiting till their approximately 12 - 16 weeks. You want all the birds to be roughly the same size. Make sure they meet in neutral territory (to busy exploring to fight as much) and be ready to stand and watch them for about 20minutes.

Also, make sure you're around at bed time, they're going to have some fights working out who sleeps where, and you need to make sure they end up sleeping in the right place.

Only thing I dont know about is Quarantine, and whether you should keep them seperated into groups from where they came from, or whether they will be safe to go together straight away.

 

[lngrid]

People here say they've had the best luck putting a new chicken in with the flock after dark when everyone's asleep. They seem to accept each other better when they wake up together.

I've also read here that you should keep new birds quarantined from the rest of the flock for 30 days. They should be far enough apart that airborne diseases can't spread. I've heard that a bird can look and be perfectly healthy but be shedding germs that would sicken a bird without immunity.

Good luck with your birds and I hope you enjoy them a lot!

 

[Squirrelletta]

There is no flock, they would all be new. (exceptthe two that did come from the same group at the store.

But I'm getting the idea, thanks!