Sad Flock. Will my young hens enjoy new additions?

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arizona_chicken_noob said:
I had a somewhat similar loss, flock size, and timeline to you. I did not try to put the young chicks with the older birds, and what I found was that the older birds had been on their own for so long that their personalities were a bit different. They did not mind being alone as much anymore.

So when everybody was large enough to be put together, the older chickens mostly ignored the newer ones. Even today (months later) there is cohesion but my now-only "survivor" bird cares a lot less about staying with other birds.
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Sorry for your loss too
 
nuthatched said:
They'll likely harass the the snot out of the smaller ones for a few weeks, as that's how the pecking order works. You can brood the chicks out with them if your coop's big enough, it might make introduction easier. just make sure the big ones can't reach them or they could kill them.
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Thank you for the advice
 
Glad to meet you, and very sorry for your losses. It's so hard. You might want to look at this article on improving predator protection for new and existing coops, for some good detail on improving things to avoid future attacks. Once a predator knows there are delicious chickens to be had, they will be back. If you get really ambitious, you might even want to think about protecting your sad flock with electric fencing, which is explained very well in this article.

You have been given good explanations and ideas about how to introduce new chicks to your existing flock. I hope you have good luck and happier days ahead. I look forward to hearing stories and seeing pictures of those days! Best wishes.
 
Boppo said:
Glad to meet you, and very sorry for your losses. It's so hard. You might want to look at this article on improving predator protection for new and existing coops, for some good detail on improving things to avoid future attacks. Once a predator knows there are delicious chickens to be had, they will be back. If you get really ambitious, you might even want to think about protecting your sad flock with electric fencing, which is explained very well in this article.

You have been given good explanations and ideas about how to introduce new chicks to your existing flock. I hope you have good luck and happier days ahead. I look forward to hearing stories and seeing pictures of those days! Best wishes.
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Thank you Boppo. I also hope for better days!
 

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