Reintroducing 3 chickens

[msrockwood]

So I had an extra frisky rooster and he’s gone because he wounded 3 hens in one day! I only have 7 hens and he obviously needed more. Anyways, I had to nurse my girls back to health and didn’t feel comfortable putting them back when it was freezing so here we are. Day one did not go so well. The remaining girls are not happy of coarse and terrorizing their old flock members. How is it done with multiple birds? The girls are so happy to be back at the coop but the other girls aren’t having it. Any suggestions ?

 

[sloanbychoice]

How long were they separated, and how long were they together before that?
Do you have any way to separate the coop and/or run for a while so they can be next to each other?

 

[Mrs. K]

They are forgotten and not considered flock mates.

Try this, let the outside birds outside the coop/run. Put the 'injured girls' inside the coop/run and lock them in there. Feed along side the fence. Near dark, pull the injured birds back to where you had them, let the outside birds into go to roost.

Next day - repeat

Third day - Leave two outside birds in add the injured birds so it is 3 injured to 2 outside Inside the coop/ run, the other pair is still outside. Now there may be a dust up, but because the numbers are pretty even it should settle quickly.

This night let the other outside birds in, just before dark. The urge to roost will be almost as strong as the urge to fight. And do this on a day you can be down there early in the morning just to make sure.

The thing is - is the coop/run is strange to the injured birds. They feel insecure in this set up, and then they are being chased to death, again not good for their confidence. By letting them be in there for a couple of days - develops some territorial rights, and the outside chickens see them in there, and all is fine.

I have tried this multiple times - it is an easy set up for me to do.

Mrs K

 

[msrockwood]

I got all of them last May and they were already a couple of months old. One has been a couple of months, the other two were about a month. He got them good sadly. Never again. I have some dog crates that I can put inside but I thought that since they were already together so long that it would go more smoothly. Sadly that’s not the case.I’ll q

They are forgotten and not considered flock mates.

Try this, let the outside birds outside the coop/run. Put the 'injured girls' inside the coop/run and lock them in there. Feed along side the fence. Near dark, pull the injured birds back to where you had them, let the outside birds into go to roost.

Next day - repeat

Third day - Leave two outside birds in add the injured birds so it is 3 injured to 2 outside Inside the coop/ run, the other pair is still outside. Now there may be a dust up, but because the numbers are pretty even it should settle quickly.

This night let the other outside birds in, just before dark. The urge to roost will be almost as strong as the urge to fight. And do this on a day you can be down there early in the morning just to make sure.

The thing is - is the coop/run is strange to the injured birds. They feel insecure in this set up, and then they are being chased to death, again not good for their confidence. By letting them be in there for a couple of days - develops some territorial rights, and the outside chickens see them in there, and all is fine.

I have tried this multiple times - it is an easy set up for me to do.

Mrs K

Oh my gosh thank you so much for this very detailed rundown of how it’s done, this has been very helpful. I will give it a go tomorrow. I can’t believe how my sweet little chickens turn into Broom Hilda they minute they saw them. Thank you again.