Introducing New Hens

[CherryAdventure]

Normally I just put the hen in when my flock is going to sleep, and keep an eye on her till she finds her place. But now I have to introduce 11 new hens to my flock of 17. Is it the same as when you introduce 1 or 2? Do I need to worm my chickens before they meet these new hens? I have roosters. Will they be protective of their girls? Do I need to quarantine the new hens for a while?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Yes, definitely quarantine them. Here's an article on how to do that properly. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...often-underestimated-part-of-raising-chickens

I like to introduce new birds using the "see but don't touch method." Here's an article I wrote on that. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

Good luck to you! I love your avatar by the way!

 

[nursesusanb]

I recently did this on a smaller scale, and have noticed that they tolerate each other but are basically a separate flock. The "second string" rooster has taken over being in charge of the new ladies.
I did do it at night and it went better than I expected.

 

[CherryAdventure]

Quote: Thanks, he was my first hatch.

Okay, so I read through the quarantining page. How big would their pen have to be, if they're going to be there a month? The nursing home I built is too close to the main pen. The old dog pen (We got rid our dogs. They weren't fit for farm life.) Isn't secure for chickens. We have a cage, but it's too small for 11 hens for a month. We have chicken proof vege gardens, but they're in use. We're 100 kms away from the nearest town, so we can't just pop down to the store and buy some chicken wire.

I didn't know they had to be quarantined! I'm in Australia. Are these kind of measures still necessary? I read that it varies between states......



nursesusanb, I have two roosters, and that's what I'm hoping for.

Thanks.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Thanks, he was my first hatch.

Okay, so I read through the quarantining page. How big would their pen have to be, if they're going to be there a month? The nursing home I built is too close to the main pen. The old dog pen (We got rid our dogs. They weren't fit for farm life.) Isn't secure for chickens. We have a cage, but it's too small for 11 hens for a month. We have chicken proof vege gardens, but they're in use. We're 100 kms away from the nearest town, so we can't just pop down to the store and buy some chicken wire.

I didn't know they had to be quarantined! I'm in Australia. Are these kind of measures still necessary? I read that it varies between states......



nursesusanb, I have two roosters, and that's what I'm hoping for.

Thanks.

Yeah the quarantine is sure annoying but very necessary. Keep them in a pen/run/cage that can fit them all comfortably. (Each bird should have 3-4 sq. feet per bird.) Just make sure it's away from the other chickens.

 

[aart]

I didn't know they had to be quarantined! I'm in Australia. Are these kind of measures still necessary? I read that it varies between states......

They are necessary.... unless you are willing to take the risk of infecting your existing flock.
I doubt it varies geographically, pests and diseases can exist everywhere.


Here's some notes I've taken on integration that I found to be very helpful.......
......take what applies or might help and ignore the rest.
See if any of them, or the links provided at the bottom, might offer some tips that will assist you in your situation:

Integration of new chickens into flock.

Consider medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article
Poultry Biosecurity
BYC 'medical quarantine' search

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact. Integrating new birds of equal size works best.

For smaller chicks I used a large wire dog crate right in the coop for the smallers. I removed the crate door and put up a piece of wire fencing over the opening and bent up one corner just enough for the smallers to fit thru but the biggers could not. Feed and water inside the crate for the smallers. Make sure the smallers know how to get in and out of the crate opening before exposing them to the olders. this worked out great for me, by the time the crate was too small for the them to roost in there(about 3 weeks), they had pretty much integrated themselves to the olders.

If you have too many smallers to fit in a crate you can partition off part of the coop with a wire wall and make the same openings for smallers escape.


The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide out of line of sight and/or up and away from any bully birds.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best of mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

Another option, if possible, is to put all birds in a new coop and run, this takes the territoriality issues away.

Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[CherryAdventure]

I've introduced 2 sets of hens before this, and all I did was put them in at bedtime and let them sort themselves out when everyone was tired. Because their pen is so big, there's plenty of room for escape. I had a polish sleep 10 feet up a tree once on her first night. When I've had chicks, I put them in with their mothers in a cage in the coop for a day or so, then let them in with the big ones. Mumma protected them very well.