Need Advice: Getting Chickens on two dates

[DettaWalker]

Hi,

I've got experience in keeping chickens but now that we're finally getting backyard chickens for our own garden, I've got a bit of a dilemma.

We have an Omlet Eglu Cube that houses 8-10 Chickens with a 3 metre run as well as a fenced off area in the garden (Chicken wire that surrounds the eglu across our lawn so that the chicken can roam beyond the run).

We're just setting everything up and are ready to go but here's our dilemma:

We are getting Chickens from two different places. The first chickens are coming home on this weekend (unless it will be a big problem of course) and are 4 months old, point of lay and fully vaccinated. We are getting 2-3 (depending on your advice). The second chickens are coming 1 week later. These will be ex farm chickens from a free range egg farm. The plan was to get 4 of those.

Now I've read that when introducing chickens to an established flock, there will be problems. My questions:

1) Will the first 2-3 chickens be considered an established flock, or should they (in theory) cope well with the new arrivals without getting too territorial
2) I've read that it's better to introduce the new flock in higher numbers to ensure the existing chickens won't give them too much trouble. Do you think there'll be a difference between 2 vs 4 and 3 vs 4?
3) Should we get temporary housing for the newcomers until the flock is getting on better?

Grateful for any advice you can give me.

Thank you!

Barbara

 

[Ridgerunner]

If I got the right one the coop section itself is about 3 fee x 3 feet. The run section is about 5 feet x 7 feet. I copied this from their Specs. Have I got the correct one?

The Eglu Cube House is suitable for 10 bantams, 6-8 medium sized chickens like the gingernut ranger or 4-5 larger breeds such as Buff Orpingtons.

I'm not sure where you are located so I have no idea of your weather, winter or summer. I personally would put no more than three full sized hens in that if it is the right one. Certainly not 6 or 7.

Your plan is to get 2 or 3 four-month-old POL pullets and another 4 hens from that egg farm. To me that implies those are probably a couple of years old, fully mature. Even if you had more room I would not suggest it. Putting immature pullets with mature hens is not the easiest of integrations even if you have a lot of room. People manage it, we do it a lot. But your lack of room would make that really challenging.

If both sets are coming from a closed flock I don't know that quarantine is that much of a concern. A closed flock is basically one that has not had any contact with a new chicken for over a month so it is unlikely a new disease has been introduced.

Now to your specific questions.

1) Will the first 2-3 chickens be considered an established flock, or should they (in theory) cope well with the new arrivals without getting too territorial

With the later ones being more mature the issue is not any being territorial but that mature chickens tend to beat up on immature chickens.

2) I've read that it's better to introduce the new flock in higher numbers to ensure the existing chickens won't give them too much trouble. Do you think there'll be a difference between 2 vs 4 and 3 vs 4?

No difference in my opinion.

3) Should we get temporary housing for the newcomers until the flock is getting on better?

In my opinion unless you are introducing a mature rooster to a mature flock of all hens the "look but don't touch" is always a good idea.

 

[DettaWalker]

Thank you for your detailed response! The run has an extension so that it is around 5 feet wide and 10feet long but to be precise: we are also putting up a fenced off area that the coop and Run is connected to which is an additional 70 square feet of grass. I read in my research that a chicken needs a 8-10 square feet of outdoor roaming space each so we thought to set the upper limit at 7 hens and we will be well above that
From keeping my previous chicken : they were only ever in the coop to lay and roost but during the day they'd be outside.
With this additional information, what do you think is appropriate in terms of numbers ?
Also: we live in southern England and have very moderate weather

 

[Ridgerunner]

That coop section is about 3' x 3'. It looks like the nests take up 1' x 3', which leaves a 2'x 3' section for roosting unless they roost in the nests. They don't have what we consider traditional roosts but instead a grid pattern over that poop tray. I don't know how many you can get to sleep in that 2' x 3' area. You obviously cannot feed or water in there, no room. Do you plan on locking them up in that area at night for predator protection? If you leave them locked in there after they wake up you could be risking behavioral problems. All that room outside doesn't help if they can't get at it. But you are right, if they can get to it all that room does help.

I spent a year in London over 40 years ago. I remember walking to work on snowy and icy streets. I remember parts of the countryside shut down due to them not having the equipment to remove snow from the roads. Granted, that was York, probably a fair distance north of you. But still England isn't really that big. If your chickens get stuck inside that Eglu due to weather you could see behavioral problems. Those types of stories about other coops show up every winter when chickens get stuck in there. Perhaps your climate has changed in the last 40 years where you don't have to worry about snow.

Other people on here have Eglu's. Hopefully one of them with experience with them will see this and comment. Personally i would not pack them that tightly. If they can be outside all day every day you might be able to make it work. If you feel you must try I strongly suggest 6 instead of 7.

None of this addresses potential issues with integrating immature pullets with mature hens. If you must go with the higher numbers I suggest you get them all from the same source.

 

[DettaWalker]

Thank you. Winters have certainly changed since. We've not had snow for years. I think we get snow that stays for 1-2 days maybe every 5 years. That's it.thank you for all the advice. Maybe cutting it down to 4 is best. And all from the same source. I'll discuss with my hubby

 

[rosemarythyme]

Maybe cutting it down to 4 is best. And all from the same source. I'll discuss with my hubby

I think that would be the best thing for now. If you decide in the future that you want more chickens, you can always expand the set up to allow for more birds. It'll also help keep you in eggs to stagger ages of the flock by a year or more.

 

[aart]

We've not had snow for years. I think we get snow that stays for 1-2 days maybe every 5 years. That's it.thank you for all the advice.

What about rain....is the run covered for that?
Mine mostly like a light rain, but coop up when it harder.

I'd stick with one group or the other.
Integration would be very tricky in that small space.

 

[Mrs. K]

Your new to this, no need to complicate it with trying to make strange birds to each other get along. Get all the birds from one place or the other. You have much less chance getting a disease that way too. The older ex farm birds could be carriers of something that does not bother them. And older spent birds will quickly stop laying.

Get less than rather than more, see how it goes. What will seem to be MORE than enough room while the birds are young or chicks, rapidly becomes not enough space when the birds are full grown.

Overcrowding causes some rather terrible habits in chickens, and extra space in the run will not compensate for not enough space in the coop. The long nights of winter, my birds go to roost about 4:00 pm to 7:00 am the next day. A long time to be too tightly confined.

Mrs K