Looking for advice on integrating a new bird to a relatively young flock

[Kisura]

First, I am so grateful for this resource. It has been so valuable as I learn and figure this chicken keeping stuff out. I appreciate all of you who share your advice (and humor)!

I am obviously new to this. I got 6 chickens last July, my son in law picked them up from the hatchery in May, so I’m guessing they are now 4months, or about 16 weeks old. We discovered one of them is a rooster, which is really no problem as we are able to keep him. All was going swimmingly and I am fast falling in love with chicken keeping!

Now to my dilemma: My neighbor who also keeps chickens and ducks, gave me an 8-10 week Blue Cochin because she wasn’t making it in her much larger flock. We observed an initial introduction, and the “older” chickens seemed to ignore her. My neighbor said great sign! I think it’ll work... Well, I’ve now had her for about 3 weeks and I’m wondering if it will work and what I need to do or not do.

For the first 2 weeks, she was entirely separate. Last week, we had a 60 degree temperature swing and several nights below freezing, so I moved her into the Roost area at night with a heater for all the chickens, and went out in the morning to separate her again. She is now getting up and down from the roost area on her own, and spends most of the day “out” in the open coop area with the others but she can get into the separated cage if and as needed (the others generally leave her alone when she’s in there). I have occassionally locked it just to give myself the peace of mind she’s ok if I‘m away from the house and can’t check in.

Once more, it all seemed to be going so well, that I thought I’d let her stay out a bit more at a time when I’m able to observe or check in. She was getting chased and pecked at by some, but I understood I needed to let some of that happen so they’d figure it out. Now, most of them generally ignore her and two will even let her shelter behind them, but one in particular seems to be getting more aggressive with her. There is a lot of chasing, pecking and hostage holding and a lot of pipping/chirping from the cochin whether she is being chased or not . So far, I’m not seeing blood or significant loss of feathers as she is able to move fast and is small enough to shelter in some corners.I don’t know if this is just a natural escalation before she’s accepted, or what.

I am wondering if I need to just ride this out as I am, do I go back to full separation, do I remove a bird or two from the flock, or do I try to find a couple more birds to add to incorporate at the same time as I am reading it’s best to introduce more than one at a time. I’m far enough in with these I’d like to keep them all but don’t know if adding more at this time would help or hurt, if I could even find some!

Btw: i have 2 standard size Orphingtons, 2 Bantam Americuana’s, 2 Bantam Silver Pencil Rock and now 1 standard size Blue Cochin. It is one of the Orhingtons that is being so aggressive with her.

 

[Lids]

I'm just as new as you to this. But it seems to me she is fitting in rather well. She has a place to hide and she is agile. If no blood has been drawn yet, I think it is all okay. I have a flock of 5 and two can't stand each other even though they grew up together!
I find us caring humans stress too much, interfere too much and can't leave well enough alone. If worst comes to worst, you can always keep her right with you as a special pet?

 

[BDutch]

Imo from what you are telling. :
You’re new bird is doing fine. Don’t seperate her anymore. Let her fully integrate in the flock.

Don’t heat the coop. Chickens are birds. They have a down sleeping bag for the night and can keep each other warm this time of the year. Only small chickens like Serama’s and sick chickens need extra warmth in winter.

If it gets way below freezing some breeds for warmer climates might get a problem in severe cold. Maybe someone else can tell more about the breeds you have.

 

[Kisura]

Imo from what you are telling. :
You’re new bird is doing fine. Don’t seperate her anymore. Let her fully integrate in the flock.

Don’t heat the coop. Chickens are birds. They have a down sleeping bag for the night and can keep each other warm this time of the year. Only small chickens like Serama’s and sick chickens need extra warmth in winter.

If it gets way below freezing some breeds for warmer climates might get a problem in severe cold. Maybe someone else can tell more about the breeds you have.

ThanIs for the advice! I got the heater for the bad spells during the winter. I’m in western Wyoming and depending on the year, can have weeks at a time with temps in negative 20 or more overnight. For the most part, I don’t plan to use it. I used it here because one, I’m inexperienced and was uncertain, and 2 it was such a drastic temperature swing.

 

[Kisura]

I'm just as new as you to this. But it seems to me she is fitting in rather well. She has a place to hide and she is agile. If no blood has been drawn yet, I think it is all okay. I have a flock of 5 and two can't stand each other even though they grew up together!
I find us caring humans stress too much, interfere too much and can't leave well enough alone. If worst comes to worst, you can always keep her right with you as a special pet?

Thanks for the support! Yes, I care too much and am stressing too much. I finally thought I needed to ask for advice so I can stop worrying about it

I’ve already threatened to keep her in the house, and got a firm “NO” from my husband

 

[Lids]

Oh, these pesky husbands...what can we do

 

[feather13]

Even though I've had chickens for years, I'm by no means an expert. But I would say just leave her out with the other chickens. Separating her might make her seem even more different to the other birds. As long as no one is bleeding, they'll sort things out on their own. Your BO might be at the top of the pecking order and your Cochin at the bottom, but as long as no one is getting hurt it's ok. We have a BO that's at the top of the pecking order and definitely pecks at the 12 week old chicks when they get in her way, but I also think she's showing them how to act in a flock and also not hurting them. Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

So far, I’m not seeing blood or significant loss of feathers as she is able to move fast and is small enough to shelter in some corners.I don’t know if this is just a natural escalation before she’s accepted, or what.

As she isn't being physically hurt I would not remove her again. What I would recommend to ease her into the flock is 1) add additional feeders/waterers if you only have 1. In mornings I have 4 small bowls plus the feeder, so my flock of 11 has a lot of options if some of the birds are hogging food. 2) step back and assess your run space - do you have enough obstacles to provide safe hiding/get away spots? If she's hiding in corners, that's actually a bad thing, because once she gets pinned in she can't escape. You want to providing hiding spots with exit/entrances 2 or more sides so she can't get trapped.

Clutter ideas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/ plus here's a diagram of how I lay out my run to provide lots of escape routes (I have a hard time grabbing a chicken that doesn't want it, because the obstacles are too effective!) Any items that are against a wall have an extra exit cut into them.

 

[BDutch]

-20C is okay but-20F in winter Is really cold,
-4F (20C) without harsh winds or moisture in the coop/sleeping area should be fine for most chickens. Only chickens from warmer climates can have a problem with such cold.
Prevent heavy drafts but make lots of ventilation / openings in the top of the coop. This is really important.

I have no expwrience with low temperatures like -20F, But there are plenty of chicken keepers here that can advice you on this. Or just search in the articles.

I am not very experrncied too. Just have 8 chickens now and started with 4 chicks, 6 years sgo. But because I started with problems right from the start (probably cociodosiis, pecking order problems, lost chicks a year later bc of a rat, had sneezing chicks, etc.), I have been reading s lot.

I was so interested in preventing sicknesses and keeping s healthy flock, I really wanted to know more of chicken behaviour etc.. So now I now quit a bit about chickens and often feel confident enough to give advice to others.

Enjoy your flock .

 

[CluckerFamily]

ThanIs for the advice! I got the heater for the bad spells during the winter. I’m in western Wyoming and depending on the year, can have weeks at a time with temps in negative 20 or more overnight. For the most part, I don’t plan to use it. I used it here because one, I’m inexperienced and was uncertain, and 2 it was such a drastic temperature swing.

I have a heat lamp ready for the winter months in Wisconsin, I will turn it on when it gets to -20F. I have it on a timer so it can stay on for an hour or two at dusk and then comes on for dawn when it is that cold.
I think it is more of a piece of mind for me also if there is a cold day. Or those days when they cancel school because it is too cold for the buses to even start.