Mistake Adding Two Chickens, Now What

[Chickenaddict]

Quote:
I don't want them stepping on the eggs and breaking them and also tracking manure into and pooping in the nesting boxes that have been getting all over the eggs since they have been sleeping and hanging out in the nesting boxes....that is unsanitary!

What type of a dog crate, like the metal cage style or the traditional dog crates that are made of plastic with the vents on the side and a metal door? A dog crate seems like a great idea!

It can be any type of dog crate you have handy, they aren't tooo picky. I have had most sucess introducing new birds in with the flock using the metal dog crates which allows your girls to see the other girls and vise versa

Yet keeps the new girls safe from being picked on. I use a big slab of straw in the metal ones, when it gets yucky (probably within a few days) I pull it out and put in a fresh chunk, works great and takes seconds to clean up

Edited to fix errors from butter fingers lol

 

[Stephanie739]

Quote:
That is what I wondered. I wouldn't be concerned about using nesting boxes properly at this point. I would let the new chicks have access to any place they are secure.

I don't want them stepping on the eggs and breaking them and also tracking manure into and pooping in the nesting boxes that have been getting all over the eggs since they have been sleeping and hanging out in the nesting boxes....that is unsanitary!

Yes I understand the sanitation issue. I was just really looking at the safety of the birds as a higher priority in the beginning. Once accepted in the flock, then block off the boxes. Please don't think I am judging either. I'm not. We are all learning together.

ETA I think the broken eggs, mess, etc. is due to the frenzy of trying to get away from the first birds....they are frightened.

 

[Stephanie739]

Quote:
What type of a dog crate, like the metal cage style or the traditional dog crates that are made of plastic with the vents on the side and a metal door? A dog crate seems like a great idea!

It can be any type of dog crate you have handy, they aren't tooo picky. I have had most sucess introducing new birds in with the flock using the metal dog crates which allows your girls to see the other girls and vise versa

Yet keeps the new girls safe from being picked on. I use a big slab of straw in the metal ones, when it gets yucky (probably within a few days) I pull it out and put in a fresh chunk, works great and takes seconds to clean up

Edited to fix errors from butter fingers lol

I am using a metal dog crate now, a large one (golden retriever size) but I have small pet carriers too that I used in the beginning when the chicks were smaller and the shared coop time was not as extensive. The little ones are in the coop nearly full time now, and the crate is my permanent integration solution. The big chicks are in the yard during the day, but around 4 they start heading back to the coop. That is when I put the little ones in the crate and open the coop/run door to let the big chicks wander around, see the little ones....the little ones sleep in the kennel. Roosts are provided.
I also have a guinea pig cage that I used for a short time too. Good luck. You can make it work

 

[Stephanie739]

I have 2 other chicks that I added without much trouble. Maybe my coop size is a factor. I did keep them quaratined for almost 2 weeks, but they were seen by the originals. My quaratined failed because my original chickes kept busting into and nosing around the isolation area! Thankfully, all seem very healthy. I'm sure the see-from-a-distance quarantine helped the other new chicks. They are still picked on a little, but they have taken the very low roosts in the back corner of the coop and the originals let them be now...usually

I used the dog kennel for them too in the beginning (placed in my shed)

 

[stcroixusvi]

Personally, I think chickens are a bit like people - all sorts of personalities, and some just don't mix. We have built a second coop to remedy introduction issues. We had one chicken with a prolapsed vent. She was isolated for 1.5 weeks and continues to have difficulty mixing with the general population. She never comes out of the coop even during free range time. We ended up putting water inside the hen house so she doesn't get dehydrated. We also have another chicken, a polish hen, who rarely mixes with the other hens and frequently gets picked on. She has also started remaining in the hen house. So, of course the solution for us is to expand! But we have a rooster that is wonderful and friendly but constantly picked on by the other roosters, so he has been by himself for a while. He will go in the new coop as well.

Chickens are FAR more complicated, and I am FAR more attached than I ever imagined.

 

[BlazeJester]

I'm glad this thread is here!

I raised two chicks for my mom along with my half-dozen and brought them home at Thanksgiving when they were 16 weeks old. The 2.5yr-old barred rocks, which I was wondering about since they'd never seen other chickens that were not BRs, have been absolutely horrible to the new kids, also cornering them in the nesting area and being nasty when they go to lay!

On the very big plus side, the two young-uns had been HORRIBLY flighty and would run like hell from me. They run TO my mom and brother and are becoming quite the people socialites

Hoping this works out for your hens as well as my mom's! Good luck!!!

 

[J&J's Girls]

When did you add your new chickens? During the day? Its best to put them on the roost late at night and let everyone just wake up together. I also agree with others that "chicken jail" works. Just put the aggressor in "time out" for a week. Re-introduce at night. Also, try placing the younger hens on the roost at night after all have gone to bed and its quiet.
God Bless