New(ish) owner in Indiana

LordLucan

Hatching
7 Years
Aug 30, 2012
9
0
7
Hi All,

We've had our 2 Isa Brown's (Bertha and Beatrice) for about a year and are in the process of adding to our little flock. Last Saturday we added 2 Silkies (Philippa and Phyllis) and plan on 1 or 2 more this weekend (hopefully Dominique's).

Right now they are separated but we learnt that lesson the hard way. Poor Philippa has a small hole in the back of her heard, most likely dealt to her by Beatrice. Phyllis is in the main run, but separated off by chicken wire. A bit nervous about letting her in with the other two... how will I know if they'll get along?


A
 
Hello and welcome to BYC
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If you add chickens it's best to keep them separate from your existing flock for awhile, to make sure they don't carry disease or pests like mites and also to give your flock time to check out the newbies and get used to them without being able to get to them.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the welcome, and the reply!

How long should I keep them apart? They can see each other right now, I have a temporary fence dividing the run, but they aren't in direct contact. Are there any signs to look for that suggest they've got used to each other enough that I can put them together?
 
I've never dealt with chickens so I don't have advice for you but
WelcometoBYC.gif
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Hi and :welcome from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. They do need to be about the same size. You could always do a test run when you can be with them. I would start by throwing in some scratch grains for a distracting purpose, then let the fence down and see what happens. You might want to do this in the evening. My chickens are the most calm at this time. Let them spend a little time together, making sure no one is getting out of line, then separate again. Then try again each day until you are sure there isn't going to be any problems outside the normal pecking order. Good luck. :thumbsup
 

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