Introducing the Brahma Quadruplets....

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

My Motley Crew: a Dutch Bantam rooster (8m old), 2 Rhode Island Red, same age and a 6m old Light Brahma girl who looks like the Michelin man, chases any human being for food...

So I like those Light Brahma... got 4 more.. 6month ish... , quarantined them in the garage for the about a day, introduced them earlier while the others were running wild in the yard looking for land mines...

Everyone's back to the coop around 5:30PM... more fighting than expected, broke out about 4... same new 2 females systematically testing the whole crew. Now they're sleeping on top of each others in the coop...

Short question is (sorry), how long is the pecking order sorting is going to last? Should I introduce new chicks in a different way next time?


Thank you and sorry for being wordy!

 

[Peppercorngal]

Normally one would put the new chickens in a cage where they can see the old chickens and the old chickens can see them for a time before you put them in the same coop or run. You can free range them together in a large space but they need time to see one another without the new chickens seeming to be a threat to the "established community". They will work it out but there may be blood. . . .

 

[aart]

Integration Basics:

It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

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.

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

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 copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, 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'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

This used to be a better search, new format has reduced it's efficacy, but still:
Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading, BUT some info is outdated IMO:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[azygous]

Introducing older hens to a flock is going to produce conflict. The objective is to keep it to a minimum. To accomplish that, you need to make the integration process a gradual one. I wrote an article documenting how I integrated a rescue hen. http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock A couple years later, I introduced another rescue hen in the same manner, and it went as superbly well as the first.

It took about three weeks for these hens to be fully integrated and accepted into the flock using the method I describe.

 

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

Thanks for all the great feedback. split the run in half for last 2 days, left them run around in the field this afternoon, things went pretty well. Back in separate coops for the night