Age matters when doing the introduction, a minimum introduction age of 8-12 weeks old. Breed doesn't matter so much as bloodline. I've found that hatchery birds can have any temperament, good or bad, while birds from a breeder are more consistent. Breeders don't want flogged every time they go outside, and usually the mean ones are culled and eliminated from the gene pool. Size and attitude is more important, as well as a slow introduction over the course of a couple of weeks. Sometimes you can get away with just adding new birds, sometimes you can't. You have to feel the situation out, and go with how they're acting, and babysit them until you have peace of mind. You'll know if it will be bad when the older birds investigate, they'll start coming close, and the young ones will either run or stand their ground. Usually they run. The boss hen may then give chase, or she won't. A hen from lower standing may be the mean one, elevating herself to new status with the new arrivals being weaker than her. It can get pretty intricate when you sit down and see how they all fit in with each other, or not fit in.
Sorry you lost the birds, it does suck when that happens. If time is short, it's best to have a wire wall, and you can add the babies to one side and walk away, knowing the fence will protect them and the adults can get to know them from afar. Leave them like that for 2 weeks, then have free range during the day. Eventually they'll know each other well enough that you can take the wall down, and that time behind the wall lets the babies get more size and attitude in the mean time. They'll gain some confidence in watching the older birds interactions through the fence.
I have a huge rabbit hutch I converted to a coop, and I use it for the "in between" birds going through growth and introduction. They get free range that I supervise, since 2 of my adults are jerks. When they stop acting that way, I can safely move the other birds to the coop itself. No luck yet, and I've gotten after those hens for being rude. The meanest one is not the leader, and she really wants to boss someone. The actual leader helps me get after her, it's funny. When ever I get after a bird, my oldest and first birds get after her too. The original 3 are fine with new babies, they'll visit them even and share food.
Worse case scenario at my coop... I sell the two trouble makers since these babies are their replacements anyways, and keep my 3 oldest since they're the favorites. The middle aged birds I didn't raise, so they don't "fit" as well as the rest do. I've found that hand raising my babies and playing a more active role in their little lives makes the introductions easier when I add more. Birds that I bought from larger flocks and without hands-on rearing tend to be meaner. The meanest have come from hatchery stock, the sweetest and most docile from breeders.
I'm always adding and removing birds, maintaining a flock of 5-10 but it's ever changing based on age, laying, and temperament. If a bird can't get with the program here, she'll find herself in a larger country flock where she can fend for herself. I always ask how large the flock is before selling, so that I can let the people know if they're setting themselves up for coop drama. I won't send my trouble makers to a small urban flock, since they'll cause issues and usually the owner is a beginner. It works for everyone if they're sent away to a large free range flock outside the city, where mean birds can easily find the stew pot or get a wake-up call on their behavior from a rooster.
There is definitely more drama without a rooster, so I try to mesh similar docile temperaments to avoid the potential blood bath. We can't have a rooster, so I have to be the boss. I can't sit with them all the time, so I only keep the birds who are sweet. My boss hen is sweet to me, but she won't take any lip from a jerk. The meanest one here is also a Black Star, from hatchery stock, but she still doesn't get any respect from the leader Wheaties. When I brought the 2 new ones home last year, Wheaties got right in the face of the Black Star and let her know how things were. The new ones were adult sized at 6 months old, so I knew there would be a fight, but they were old enough to handle it, so I just watched. They sorted it out quickly with minimal blood loss.
I'll protect the young ones, and chase off adults until they approach calmly and with good intentions. If the birds are adult sized, I only watch and let them sort it out. Feather yanking mostly. Blood sometimes. Other times I have to grab a hen and lock her back up, or do emergency wound care. It can get ugly quick!
It's different every time, with every introduction. Sometimes it takes a day, other times it takes 3 months for things to return to normal. The best is when there is a 5 minute stare-down, and they're done. But that's rare. Having a barrier set up to keep them safe removes the stress of it, even if it's just a dog crate on the floor of the coop.
Sorry you lost the birds, it does suck when that happens. If time is short, it's best to have a wire wall, and you can add the babies to one side and walk away, knowing the fence will protect them and the adults can get to know them from afar. Leave them like that for 2 weeks, then have free range during the day. Eventually they'll know each other well enough that you can take the wall down, and that time behind the wall lets the babies get more size and attitude in the mean time. They'll gain some confidence in watching the older birds interactions through the fence.
I have a huge rabbit hutch I converted to a coop, and I use it for the "in between" birds going through growth and introduction. They get free range that I supervise, since 2 of my adults are jerks. When they stop acting that way, I can safely move the other birds to the coop itself. No luck yet, and I've gotten after those hens for being rude. The meanest one is not the leader, and she really wants to boss someone. The actual leader helps me get after her, it's funny. When ever I get after a bird, my oldest and first birds get after her too. The original 3 are fine with new babies, they'll visit them even and share food.
Worse case scenario at my coop... I sell the two trouble makers since these babies are their replacements anyways, and keep my 3 oldest since they're the favorites. The middle aged birds I didn't raise, so they don't "fit" as well as the rest do. I've found that hand raising my babies and playing a more active role in their little lives makes the introductions easier when I add more. Birds that I bought from larger flocks and without hands-on rearing tend to be meaner. The meanest have come from hatchery stock, the sweetest and most docile from breeders.
I'm always adding and removing birds, maintaining a flock of 5-10 but it's ever changing based on age, laying, and temperament. If a bird can't get with the program here, she'll find herself in a larger country flock where she can fend for herself. I always ask how large the flock is before selling, so that I can let the people know if they're setting themselves up for coop drama. I won't send my trouble makers to a small urban flock, since they'll cause issues and usually the owner is a beginner. It works for everyone if they're sent away to a large free range flock outside the city, where mean birds can easily find the stew pot or get a wake-up call on their behavior from a rooster.
There is definitely more drama without a rooster, so I try to mesh similar docile temperaments to avoid the potential blood bath. We can't have a rooster, so I have to be the boss. I can't sit with them all the time, so I only keep the birds who are sweet. My boss hen is sweet to me, but she won't take any lip from a jerk. The meanest one here is also a Black Star, from hatchery stock, but she still doesn't get any respect from the leader Wheaties. When I brought the 2 new ones home last year, Wheaties got right in the face of the Black Star and let her know how things were. The new ones were adult sized at 6 months old, so I knew there would be a fight, but they were old enough to handle it, so I just watched. They sorted it out quickly with minimal blood loss.
I'll protect the young ones, and chase off adults until they approach calmly and with good intentions. If the birds are adult sized, I only watch and let them sort it out. Feather yanking mostly. Blood sometimes. Other times I have to grab a hen and lock her back up, or do emergency wound care. It can get ugly quick!
It's different every time, with every introduction. Sometimes it takes a day, other times it takes 3 months for things to return to normal. The best is when there is a 5 minute stare-down, and they're done. But that's rare. Having a barrier set up to keep them safe removes the stress of it, even if it's just a dog crate on the floor of the coop.
