I am having a 'wonderful' problem introducing a new set of chickens into the coop... I have 6 hens that are the oldest... I have introduced 6 more who are approximately 8-9 months old (so I have to assume they are old enough to integrate).
1. The oldest group wont leave the younger group alone...
2. we've tried to keep them separated, but cannot logistically due to the construction of the coop and run
3. I have enough roosting poles in the run AND the coop, but the new group will not use them... they have taken over a single nesting box near the floor... ALL six of them crowd in there every night and sleep... pooping all over the nesting box (and themselves in the process)
4. I've put them on the roosting poles manually numerous times, but they won't stay on it... keep jumping down and going into the nesting box
5. I've considered blocking the bottom nesting box to stop them from going into it, but do not want them to just jump ulabel:2.-personal-cbc-growth-groupp to the next nesting box and do the same thing there
6. currently the old group is still laying their eggs in the 2nd and 3rd nesting boxes, but again... if I block off the bottom one from the new group, I don't want the new group to take over the next box and so on...
7. I do let the old group out to free-range, and have left the new group in the run/coop, and that is just fine, but that doesn't solve anything...
8. I can let all out to free-range, and no problems, but at night when all together (again), the new group crushes themselves into the nesting box and... repeat!
Any ideas on how to get them to roost like normal chickens AND get along??? This has been going on now for 2 weeks with no change!
Thanks in advance!
1. The oldest group wont leave the younger group alone...
2. we've tried to keep them separated, but cannot logistically due to the construction of the coop and run
3. I have enough roosting poles in the run AND the coop, but the new group will not use them... they have taken over a single nesting box near the floor... ALL six of them crowd in there every night and sleep... pooping all over the nesting box (and themselves in the process)
4. I've put them on the roosting poles manually numerous times, but they won't stay on it... keep jumping down and going into the nesting box
5. I've considered blocking the bottom nesting box to stop them from going into it, but do not want them to just jump ulabel:2.-personal-cbc-growth-groupp to the next nesting box and do the same thing there
6. currently the old group is still laying their eggs in the 2nd and 3rd nesting boxes, but again... if I block off the bottom one from the new group, I don't want the new group to take over the next box and so on...
7. I do let the old group out to free-range, and have left the new group in the run/coop, and that is just fine, but that doesn't solve anything...
8. I can let all out to free-range, and no problems, but at night when all together (again), the new group crushes themselves into the nesting box and... repeat!
Any ideas on how to get them to roost like normal chickens AND get along??? This has been going on now for 2 weeks with no change!
Thanks in advance!