Introducing two year old hen to one year old flock

[Colorado Chick]

Hi there, i may have gotten myself a headache, when all i wanted was more eggs! im still trying to determine her breed (two people have now told me production red, but she looks so much like a buff plymouth rock and looks like a catalana on steroids), but im introducing a 2 year old hen to my 1 year old rsl's. First question, how long should i quarantine an otherwise healthy bird (By the way, everyone is on a round of wormer right now) and then when should i introduce the new hen,and how? thnaks everyone!

 

[Odelia]

It is always harder to introduce a single bird to a flock. They don't have any allies and everyone looks at them as a foe. So my first question is where or not it is possible to get her a friend before introducing her to your established flock? Then it seems to go more smoothly when you first set the new bird where the rest of the flock can see them, but not get to them. For example a large dog crate placed inside your flocks run. Leave them like that for several days so that they get accustomed to the new bird/birds. Then when you combine them either place the new bird on the roost at night so that they just wake up and she is there. This works best when they always have access to their run. If you have to let them out in the morning then put the new bird out with them in as much space as possible so that she can escape her attackers. There is always some pecking when reestablishing a pecking order. The key is to give them enough space that they do get trapped and thus get harmed by the other birds during this transition. Good luck with your new girl. Sometimes adding new birds is easy and sometimes it isn't. It all depends on your flocks personalities and also how crowded they are.

 

[Colorado Chick]

ok, thank you so much for that. so do you quarantine new birds to any degree? for health reasons i mean. I dont think a second new hen would work, i mean i could always give the extra eggs away. But my coop is super small, i only have four nest boxes. granted my three rsl's share one box, and a friend told me you can pretty well measure two hens per nest box. Roosting space wouldnt allow for a fifth hen either. Not without resulting in health or temperament issues. I just discovered this morning that she is a fence jumper....grrrrr. she was pretty stressed this morning, she had this look on her face like she wanted to get out and run away. So i wound up putting her in taller fenced area, and she laid her egg. I didnt think she would want to lay today being transported to a new place yesterday. so now she seems much calmer. she is resting in the shade while being separated from the other hens. I put them all together for a few minutes this morning, she and my lead hen seem to be the clash of the titans. they both seem to be equally 'Leadish", so we will see how that works out being that my lead hen is about 1/2 to 3/4 of the new hens weight. anyway, im rambling, but thank you very much for your help. But can you please please please tell me how long you quarantine your birds, if you do? thanks!

 

[Den in Penn]

If they have already been together quarantine is pointless. The normal length for a quarantine is thirty days. With so few birds you could do a one at time introduction. Put one hen with her, usually a middle ranked hen, for a few days so they get to know each other one on one. Then add another for a few more days. When you have enough used to her, you can combine the flocks. With only four I would hold the head hen for last or try putting them together when it is two on two.