We have 11 hens that are about 4 1/2 months old. Our neighbors got theirs around the same time we did. They want to give them to us and we are more than glad to take them. My question is should they be separated from our hens for awhile or can we put them right together? They're giving us 6 hens and they're the same exact breed. What are your guys thoughts and/or experiences on it?
Good Morning, Before adding any new chickens to your existing flock, you should keep the new ones quarantined for about 30 days. That gives you a chance to observe the new ones for any sign of disease or illness in the new birds before taking a chance of something spreading to your existing birds. Also, your birds have an established pecking order and adding new birds will challenge those dynamics. Once you are satisfied that the new birds are healthy, give the two flocks a chance to see but not touch each other. They all have to have time to get used to each other before just being thrown together. Here's a link to an article in the Learning Center that will help explain things: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock If you need more information or want to read other people's experiences merging flocks, you can type "merging flocks" into the Search box at the top of the screen. Good luck!