Problems Introducing New Pullet

[chic-a-deee]

Hi,
I have a 12 week old pullet & have had it in a cage inside the chook run to allow the other chickens to get used to it.
I have let it out about 3x. It has been tolerated for about 1 minute. Then the hens peck & chase it. The Silky rooster, who is pretty good natured, also chases it to my surprise.
Today I put it in with the others (this morning) & it got pecked & chased, it was flapping up the side of the wire trying to get out (poor thing) so I put it back in the cage inside the run.
I also am not sure what sex it is. I got it as a chick, as it was a meat bird.....& didnt want to see it killed. So if anyone out there could give me some advice on what to do to integrate it into the flock (consisting of 1 roo & 3 hens) I'd appreciate it. She/he has been in the cage in the run for nearly 2 weeks. It goes into the garage at night.

I'd also appreciate how to tell the sex of the chick? Dont know if my Roo would accept another roo in such confined area. My chicken coop is in my pictures here on my profile if you need reference.Thanks

 

[Macro]

Maybe it's a space thing? I'm not really certain how big your chicken run is from the pictures but it doesn't look that small. I know when I introduced my two turkeys in with my chickens they chased and pecked at the turkeys for a while. It's been 2-3 weeks but the teasing as certainly let up a lot. Now there's only an occasional tiff and it's usually from the leghorn. (I think she's just glad she's not on the bottom of the totem pole anymore.)

How aggressive are the others towards the new one? I mean, do you believe they really want to hurt her? Or do you think it's more to establish a new pecking order? I wasn't too worried when I put my turkeys in because although they were much younger, they were nearly as big as my chickens. Unfortunately I think there's usually some bullying when introducing new members into a flock.

Perhaps you could try a few more supervised visits. I know I spent a lot of time sitting quietly inside and outside my chickens pen when I introduced my newbies. It seemed to help keep them behaved and maybe feel a little more comfortable about it. My chickens usually always stick next to me, so it gave the turkeys a chance to explore a little and steal some food with out being picked on. XD

 

[chic-a-deee]

Thanks for the reply

They're not that aggressive....they give her a few good pecks on the back etc, no feathers flying. I was sitting outside the pen watching & the newbie stuck right by me....with a pleading look on its face. Shes smaller than the others so I spose that will affect the pecking order, which will mean the newbie will be at the bottom.
When I first let her out of that cage, she actually attacked the brown hen, holding on to the feathers on her neck & I had to stop her. But the newbie , today, didnt want to be in there at all. I'll keep putting her in there though, in the cage. She runs away from the others. I would just hate to find her dead in the morning once I allow her to stay unsupervised overnight???? Yeah, Ive heard a few people on BYC sit at the pen for a while, while they introduce new ones. My 3 girls grew up together so I havent had the experience introducing new ones.... I really appreciate someone to talk to about this, as I'd really like them all to get along eventually. I'll let you know how it goes in the next week.
When they were free ranging, I let the little one out with the others & they even tolerated her pecking at the grass right next to them, so I thought 'wow this must mean they are accepting her' I think I jumped the gun, cos they dont tolerate her too well IN the pen. The pen & run are big enough for 5 chickens so it must just be that 'newbie pecking-order' thingy. Keep you posted

 

[cafarmgirl]

Well your new bird looks like a rooster, that's a lot of red in the comb/wattles at 12 weeks to be a pullet. So that will likely be an issue with your current roo eventually since you have so few hens.

As far as integrating with the flock... it can sometimes be very hard to integrate just one new bird, they just fixate on it. I have tried it in the past with just one and I'll never do it again. I had a hen scalped and injured badly one time and that was after she'd been in their coop in a pen and in a fenced off part of their run for several weeks. She was able to free range with them but they didn't allow her in their coop for a very long time. She ended up living free in my barn and roosting on top of their coop with a buddy.

Free ranging them together is probably the best approach for now, the more space they have the better. There will be scuffles for a while but you just want to make sure they aren't intent on doing bodily injury to the new one. Hopefully all will settle down after a while.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

That is a rooster. With only a few hens you should not have 2 roosters. So if you want to keep him as a pet you might want to make him a coop and maybe get a few hens to keep with him as well.

 

[chic-a-deee]

Quote:
Oh dear god noooooooo....... not a rooster!!!! That really blows.....

I guess alot of meat birds are roosters. All we wanted was a white bird....& its not fair to get rid of it just cos he's a boy. Sigh.

So one is the most difficult to integrate??? Why oh why do I make life so hard?? LOL

Thanks for these replies....guys, it will give me plenty to think about. A Roo....

Sigh.....

 

[chic-a-deee]

Well 8 days have passed, and the four other chickens (1 roo) still dont tolerate the newby.

I will persist. I have let them free range a few times. Everything is ok when Im out there but when I come inside the house, I can hear the newby's
chirps of distress as the others chase & peck her. I hope my interference by putting her back in the pen, doesnt cement her as a 'target' for the other
adult chooks to pick on??
Time will tell.....

 

[Macro]

What a tough situation. I have heard for some people it takes weeks. It's taken our turkeys about 3 weeks to fully integrate in with our chickens, but it's possible that they finally integrated because the chickens quickly realized that the turkeys were growing much bigger than they were.

I hope they learn to tolerate each other soon!!

 

[chic-a-deee]

Well.....Im still trying to integrate this pullet. She doesnt put up a fight, or defend herself, she just runs away & they chase her & peck her. I really havent got the time to sit in the coop with her every day making sure she doesnt get too hurt. I dont protect her, cos Im sure that's not good for her integration into the flock.
I do the free range thing.....let them all out together & be with each other in a safe environment. The coop is the big problem.....the flock is kept on one side, & the pullet on the other .... separated but able to see each other. All I can do is keep it up until they accept her?? What do you think?

 

[Stef82]

I don't know what to say. When I got my RIR's (4) and introduced them to the flock of EE's they attacked the RIR's for a few days, but not ATTACK attack, just peck a few times. Months later, they all get a long well. They need to establish a pecking order. When I introduce a new chicken, I have one hen who is on the bottom of the ranking order and she makes sure the newbie isn't higher then her. Sometimes she wins, and other times she looses. It's up to you on what you want to do. But if it's a rooster, then you'll have a bigger issue.