Introducing young birds to a lonely hen in an established flock

[SStickChick]

This is just me being curious if you think this will work. I introduced a pair of young bantam pullets (Aleggzandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kamalay Harris) to my flock several months ago. They were JUST starting to really be "part of the flock" instead of just being their own mini flock (my flock has little cliques since there's like three generations of chickens). Kamalay was killed by an owl a few days ago - I put them up at night, but these two just INSISTED on roosting outside, and this was just one night I was about a half hour later than usual forcing them inside.

ANYWAY. Egg O.C. is now clearly lonely. She's definitely the bottom of the pecking order, and she spent two days looking for Kamalay. It was so heartbreaking, it upset me more than losing Kamalay in the first place.

I was looking to expand my flock a little bit before this. There's someone selling month old standard size pullets nearby who I've bought from before. My question is - should I put Egg O.C. in with the new pullets once they reach about the same size so maybe she'll bond with them? They'll be younger than she is, so I would hope that would put her at a more confident place in the pecking order. Then once I introduce the new babies to the flock a few weeks later they'll all be part of the same "clique" and maybe Egg. O.C. won't be so lonely anymore?

Or should I just introduce the new birds the way I would normally?

 

[azygous]

If you understand that chickens will experience well being from being around other chickens no matter if they get along or not, then integrating needs only to be done safely.

My personal take on integrating different ages is that the earlier it's done, the better, especially if you're introducing very young birds. This makes me opposite of many of my peers who like to wait until chicks have reached size parity. Small chicks are far less likely to pose a threat to adult birds, and it can be done safely using a chick panic room (safe chick pen with chick size openings).

Your Egg. OC, love those names, will be fine no matter how you handle things. It's the new chickens that will be facing the stress of a new home and a chicken on her home turf. For that reason, I like to provide a barrier between the existing flock and the newcomers for the first few days while the newbies get the lay of the land, so to speak.

I also put everyone together in the coop to sleep at night from the start since there's not much incentive to engage in conflict when dark is upon them. I've found putting the new ones in the coop as soon as the existing hen has laid for that day works best. This gives the newbies a chance to explore their new home and get comfortable before dark, all but eliminating panic over being in a strange place come dark. Bring in Egg OC when it's getting dark and everyone should be ready to just go to sleep. In the morning, you can herd the younger ones into their safe pen for the day.

To make all this go even smoother, teach your new ones to come to you when you issue a signal. It's the first thing I do when I have baby chicks. I clicker train them and it eliminates the need for the game of chase and grab.

 

[jonalisa]

If you understand that chickens will experience well being from being around other chickens no matter if they get along or not, then integrating needs only to be done safely.

My personal take on integrating different ages is that the earlier it's done, the better, especially if you're introducing very young birds. This makes me opposite of many of my peers who like to wait until chicks have reached size parity. Small chicks are far less likely to pose a threat to adult birds, and it can be done safely using a chick panic room (safe chick pen with chick size openings).

Your Egg. OC, love those names, will be fine no matter how you handle things. It's the new chickens that will be facing the stress of a new home and a chicken on her home turf. For that reason, I like to provide a barrier between the existing flock and the newcomers for the first few days while the newbies get the lay of the land, so to speak.

I also put everyone together in the coop to sleep at night from the start since there's not much incentive to engage in conflict when dark is upon them. I've found putting the new ones in the coop as soon as the existing hen has laid for that day works best. This gives the newbies a chance to explore their new home and get comfortable before dark, all but eliminating panic over being in a strange place come dark. Bring in Egg OC when it's getting dark and everyone should be ready to just go to sleep. In the morning, you can herd the younger ones into their safe pen for the day.

To make all this go even smoother, teach your new ones to come to you when you issue a signal. It's the first thing I do when I have baby chicks. I clicker train them and it eliminates the need for the game of chase and grab.

So the safe pen would be in the run or in the coop?
Also, do you keep the chicks in the coop for the first two weeks or will they learn to come in with the hens?

 

[azygous]

The chicks are in a safe pen wherever the flock usually hangs out most of the day. You want maximum exposure. It won't work if the chicks are in the coop and the action is taking place in the run.

For this reason, I brood in my secure, enclosed run instead of in the coop. My chicks begin life in the run, graduate to mingling with the flock between two and three weeks, and they move into the coop around five weeks when they no longer require heat at night.

Some members here let their chicks figure out how and when to go into the coop at night on their own. That's fine for them. I carefully teach my chicks how to go into the coop at night. Mine were going in on their own and roosting all by themselves, but last week their nanny hen who shared their coop with them died during the night. This has caused my chicks to regress, and I've been having to coax them again to come into the coop at night and encourage them to roost after they get a lot of tender affection before they settle down and stay on their perch.

Eventually, they will get past this little trauma and back on track. Meanwhile, I don't mind taking a little extra time seeing they get into the coop at night and settled in. In the end, they'll be calm, self confident, and well adjusted adults.