New Hens

[Sandyomant]

Hi All
I've just heard a disturbing story about a couple of ' school hens'.
The school decided to buy 2 extra adult hens. On advice, they removed the existing hens from Thier home and inserted the new adult hens along with some hanging DVD's as they were told these would encourage the hens to peck the disks rather than each other ????
They now have 4 unhappy hens who won't associate at all.
I have rescue hens and have introduced more rescue hens to my flock ....
The advice this school has received seems ridiculous . I'm no expert but was asked for advice on how to integrate these poor girls and make them happy again .
I have no idea how to fix this ..... Or is this some integration process that I'm unaware of?

 

[Mtnboomer]

The only process I use is to allow the new birds to be in close proximity and able to be seen and heard while remaining safe behind a fence. The duration depends on the personality of the breed/individuals but i usually do 2 months but as little as a week can work. Having gotten used to the newbies being seen and heard for so long makes it an easier transition.
Once introduced, there is still some light squabbling as they have the opportunity to reestablish the pecking order but that usually only last about a day.
Ive never heard of the dvd thing but I cant imagine how that would be detrimental other than it prevents the chickens learning appropriate socisl behaviors. I would think instinct will take over.
What breed are those hens? Some breeds are more docile and easier to add birds to where as others are inherently more aggressive.

 

[azygous]

Never heard of integrating new chickens by hanging DVDs. Sounds like a silly notion someone had who had heard of hanging DVDs around your garden to discourage deer. If I were to hang DVDs in my run, I would expect my chickens to pretty much ignore them and to snicker at me behind my back.

Since you've been asked to integrate these chickens, you probably have enough experience to advise the school about it. I'm sure the first order of business will be to get rid of the stupid DVDs.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I once had a person tell me they were building a fence to keep deer out of their garden. It was 4ft high. I told them it needs to be 8ft. They said they were putting wire fence at the bottom and streamers of surveyors tape from the top posts to convince the deer the fence went to the top. I told them "ok?" And wished them luck.
Once their veggies started growing, they came back to see me and asked "how tall does it need to be again?"
Im all for trying new things and thinking outside the box to solve issues. Just keep in mind some "crazy" ideas prove to be genius while others simply remain, well, crazy.

 

[aart]

They now have 4 unhappy hens who won't associate at all.

Won't associate or are tearing each other apart?
Big and important difference.
Knowing more about their housing would help here.
Dimensions and pics are best.

Here's some tips about......
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

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.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

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 copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, 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'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.
Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Sandyomant]

Hi All
Sorry it's taken me so long to reply but obviously things have been a bit nuts!
Thank you all for your replies and suggestions.
The girls aren't attacking each other and time does seem to have improved the situation .... They were all sunbathing together last report.
As the school remains open for the children of key workers and those vulnerable, the Hens are being loved still and the reduction of noise / on lookers seems to have helped them settle.
Take care x

 

[B-Goock]

I have a mixed flock of birds that came from all over at different times, different ages, different breeds. They are all integrated with rarely any pecking but they still sometimes pair up in their original groups.
When integrating new birds...... If I have time to watch them the next day I just put the new one's on the roost at dark. Seems in the morning they are more accepting of the new birds. It also helps if there's multiple newbies.
I've even used chicken glasses before on stubbornly persistent bullies.

 

[Sandyomant]

Thank you.
I knew about introducing them at night but feel that boat was missed. They do seem to have settled down a bit now so I'm sure they'll find their own way to live together from here in

 

[B-Goock]

Thank you.
I knew about introducing them at night but feel that boat was missed. They do seem to have settled down a bit now so I'm sure they'll find their own way to live together from here in

No problem. I just mentioned that because I didn't see those mentioned above.
Ive used that method even with roosters. They get along fairly well and alot of times hanging out together.

The chicken glasses are fun. My son glued googly eyes on some. Haha