Is it normal ????

emjay

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when introducing new gals to a small flock (with which they've been side by side for a month now) for the rooster to attack/mount/pull out feathers of the new girl and have the hen that was already in the flock attack the new gal as she's being mounted/attacked by the rooster ????? It was like a frenzy !!!!! I was ready to cook up the roo for his ungentleman like conduct. Needless to say, I took the new girl away and put her back in her seperate run.

chickens are viscious it seems, or is it just mine??
 
Chickens tend to dislike having new members added to their flock. It's best to introduce them to each other from opposite sides of a fence.
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I hope you quarantined the new hen first!
 
they've been side by side for a month.
and they were quarentined for a month prior to that in my garage.

just curious as to if this is normal behaviour. or if my roo and hen are xtra aggressive. I put them side by side this long to try and prevent such issues. obviously doesn't always work.
 
I sometimes put new hens in the coop after dark less stress i think ?? there will always be fighting, usally don't last long if they spend the night together..
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well, this normal behavior seems awfully aggressive, they look like such peaceful creatures......until............

I have snuck mamas back into the coop at night when doing their m other duties, some fighting yes. but settles in a couple of days.
I am going to give the new girls some more time. as my roo is quite a large fella.
 
How about adding one hen at a time from your old flock to the new hen -- sort of level the playing field little by little? Is your separate area large enough to handle a "friend"?

Jenny
 
right now the flock I'm trying to add them to consists of one roo and one hen.

and I have the 2 new girls.

so the flock would be a small one of 3 gals to a guy. they are for breeding stock.
 
I have more luck by letting them free range first so they can get away if an attack happens. I tried all the suggestions last year when I was trying to introduce new young hens. I had no luck till I let them all out of their pens to free range. It works well for me but to try to introduce a small number to a large number isn't good. I think that if they have more bodies to concentrate on they are less likely to attack one. I had a roo that tried to kill a new hen I tried to add. He wouldn't let any new additions into or around his regular girls at all. Not even free ranging. I rehomed him and got a docile roo.
 

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