New hens in with the old? Good or bad?

[shanglen]

We had 4 Dominique pullets and the local crafty coyote harvested (?) 2 of them which caused my 4yo DD to become most upset. The sympathetic neighbors gave us three of his hens ( RIR, Plymouth Rock and Aeracona (sp). We put them in with our 2 and after about 2 hours of ruffled feathers they seem to have settled down, but the local nay sayers have told me I was very stupid. Am I a moron? The 2 pullets are still laying and the Plymouth Rock (Big Black to us) is laying, but the others seem to be entering into a molt. I know this is long, but all I have to go on is a book about raising chickens. Local knowledge is welcome!

 

[hcammack]

well mabe you should have quarantined them to keep diseases away from your domoniques.

henry

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Nothing you can do now but you should have kept the birds quarantined for a month incase they carried in a disease to yours....always quarantine new birds when adding to ones flock....then let them get use to seeing each other by a separated wire....I have always waited til dusk to put new birds into the flock...that way they are more interested in sleep and not fighting....and mornings in food instead of pecking at each other....