New hens added to the flock.

krisch0410

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jun 15, 2014
15
0
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I've searched this whole website and can't find what I'm looking for. I got my own account just to answer my questions. I'm a first time chicken owner. I bought 4 hens and a rooster from tractor supply. They have grown up and get along great with one another. The hens are still so young that they don't lay yet and the roosters voice is still coming in. I went to a sale barn and bought two hens that are already laying to add to the bunch so we could have at least a few eggs. They have been in there for almost a week now and won't come out of the coop. My other hens attack them. The rooster is okay with them but I have one hen who seems to be more dominant than he even is and she tortures the new hens. What can I do to fix this so my new hens can come out of the coop to eat and drink? Or should I just give it more time?
 
It will take time for the original hens to accept the new hens. You could separate the new hens within the coop so they will be safe from the other hens yet still within sight until they get used to each other. When I brought a new hen to my flock it took 6 months for the others to stop picking on her. It may be a quicker process for you though because the new hens are older than the originals.
 
Hi!

So we free range some of our hens. When we introduce new hens we let them free range with eachother then after a couple of days we pen them up together.
 
@Spottie. I have trouble free ranging because where I live there is a chicken hawk that likes to fly around. I did have two roosters but it killed one already. If I let them out I have to stay with them. I have let them out for an hour or so together. They allow the two new hens to sleep with them but if they step out of the coop they are immediately attacked by the other hens and forced back into the coop.
 
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@AmishThunder I have tried penning them up separately but it was such a hastle that I quit. I'll start doing that again. Thank you very much.
 
If they allow them to roost and there's no serious blood drawn, sounds like a not too bad situation.
Chickens are not nice, there will always be pecking and chasing away.

Put some food and water in the coop too...... they'll figure it out, a week isn't very long, could take several.

How old are all the chickens?
How much space in the coop and run?
 
I'm not sure how old the two new hens are but the other chickens are about four months old. The coop is extremely large because we built it but the run is a 10x10 dog kennel.
 
Yesterday I received two new adult Rhode Island Red hens, and am trying to get my flock of three to accept them. But instead of welcoming them they are fighting and I have to keep them separated. I know that they have to create a new pecking order but I don't want my newer chickens or my flock getting injured. Any suggestions to make their transition fast and painless?? Also how long will I have to keep them separated?

BunnyLover44
 
Yesterday I received two new adult Rhode Island Red hens, and am trying to get my flock of three to accept them. But instead of welcoming them they are fighting and I have to keep them separated. I know that they have to create a new pecking order but I don't want my newer chickens or my flock getting injured. Any suggestions to make their transition fast and painless?? Also how long will I have to keep them separated?

BunnyLover44
Fast and painless is not likely.....and integration can take weeks before physical introduction and more weeks until everyone is semi content.



Here's some notes I've taken on integration that I found to be very helpful.
See if any of them, or the links provided, might offer some tips that will assist you in your situation:

Integration of new chickens into flock.


Consider medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article
Poultry Biosecurity
BYC 'medical quarantine' search

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact. Integrating new birds of equal size works best.

For smaller chicks I used a large wire dog crate right in the coop for the smallers. I removed the crate door and put up a piece of wire fencing over the opening and bent up one corner just enough for the smallers to fit thru but the biggers could not. Feed and water inside the crate for the smallers. Make sure the smallers know how to get in and out of the crate opening before exposing them to the olders. this worked out great for me, by the time the crate was too small for the them to roost in there(about 3 weeks), they had pretty much integrated themselves to the olders.

If you have too many smallers to fit in a crate you can partition off part of the coop with a wire wall and make the same openings for smallers escape.


The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide out of line of sight and/or up and away from any bully birds.

Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
 
Integrating new birds of equal size works best.
I tried that today and even my most friendliest chicken got extremely aggressive and started to peck and jump onto the new bird... But I will take your advice and wont let the two flocks interact for a couple of weeks.

Also -------
How can I tell if a chicken is sick?
How long do I allow them to fight until they get the pecking order under control?

BunnyLover44
 

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