New chickens?

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chickenlover432

chickenlover432

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Hey guys,
my name is Miranda. I'm new here.
Ok so I was wondering, I started off with three girls, Loupe, Pepi, and Agi. Pepi died sometime last year and the others stopped laying.so we got two from the RSPCA and their names are ruby and Dorris. Ruby died this year about a month after we bought her. When we went to the RSPCA they said they had no idea how old the girls are. So loupe started pecking Dorris a lot.Loupe has never been mean ever, It was always Agi and Pepi who were bossy. and suddenly she's being nasty to Dorris. she doesn't peck her to hard though, only enough to make Dorris run away. anyway my problem is that I don't know wether to get more or not, because I'm afraid they'll be picked on like Dorris.
I would be so grateful if you could give me some advice!
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Welcome to BYC
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She is probably just letting just letting Dorris know she's in charge. Chickens have their pecking order, which does involve a fair amount of pecking and bullying, whether you have 2 chickens, or 20, it's inevitable. By all means get some more chickens if you want. There will be a bit of bullying as the new girls gets put in place and settle into the flock, but as long as the fighting is not excessive and no blood is drawn, leave them to it.
 
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Yes, there is always a pecking order with birds. There is the leader and each bird has it's place on down the line to the lowest ranking bird. Adding new birds can be stressful to a flock until this order gets worked in. I have flock leader hen that is a bit aggressive as far as I am concerned and I have not added any new birds recently because of her attitude. Just make sure to give them all ample room and things to do and of course always intervene if it ever turns bloody.

Good luck with your flock and enjoy BYC!
 
When you add new birds its good if you can partition off the outside run- meanies on one side, new kids on the other so they can see each other without injury. After a period of time the new girls won't seem so new and you can combine them - while you are there to watch.
 
Thanks so much, that's really helpful. I heard somewhere that RIR chickens are really bad to have other breeds around and at the moment I have 3 RIR's is that true?And also Dorris has an extra toe, its not really a toe, it's more like a piece of bone on her upper leg. Do most chickens have that?
I know my other girls don't.
 
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