Newbie from Iowa

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Firehavvk

Firehavvk

Hatching
5 Years
Jul 7, 2014
5
1
9
Oskaloosa, IA
I just wanted to check in from Iowa since I am a newbie on this website. I really joined to ask a question about when it is best to introduce a new chick into the hen house with 3 other laying hens. My daughter is a school teacher who has been hatching chicken eggs for the last few years so we decided to keep a few last year as a hobby and maybe even get a few eggs along the way. Well, this year we wanted to add more hens to the new and improved (enlarged) chicken coop but we're not sure if the chick will be welcomed into the hen house or picked on. The coop has 4 nesting boxes and plenty of room for the 3+1 birds in the coop. Anybody have any thoughts on the subject?
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Sound like you are planning things right. You may want to check out the learning center and coop area.
 
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Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


Make sure any young birds you bring into the flock are of the same size or close to the same size as the main flock. Mixing in very young chicks can end up being hurt or even killed.

Keep any new birds in a cage or fenced off area but within the flock at all times. Leave them this way for about 3 weeks. Everybody sees, nobody touches. After about 3 weeks you can mix them. Watch them closely that day and the rest of that week. And always intervene if it turns bloody.

Good luck establishing your flock and welcome to ours!
 
Me too. CR area. Just went through the integration thing. 5 @ 8 weeks in the big house. 2 @ about 14 weeks in a smaller set-up. right next to each other. When I put then together everyone found out who was who. No blood though. After a couple of days they started to settle down. They're still not best of friends, but they are sleeping on the same roost bar next to each other.
 
Thanks for all the replies and the kind words. I think we have a good grip on things now. Here is a pic of the coop. We
added on the part on the right and the run is outside the shed/coop. It's a bit warmer inside when the freezing temps hit us.




 

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