Starting My Very Own Flock! :)

[samsiii]

Hello All, my name is Sami. I'm new to BYC and chickens in general! We're just about done with our coop which is 4'x8' and the chickens have about an 8'x16' run. Since the coop is near completion, we're now picking out our pullets. We are in a residential area, so as much as I'd like to, the city administrator has told me "NO ROOSTERS!!!" Oh well.

Here is my question: if I were planning on buying pullets from two different farms near me, would it be smart to put them all together in the coop at the same time, or to space it out so one set gets acclimated to its new surroundings first?

The pullets I have picked out at the moment:
1 welsummer and 2 buff orpingtons around six months old from one farm
and
1 barred rock and 1. maybe 2 australorps around 2 months from another farm

Any opinions on these breeds cohabiting or how to introduce the two sets to each other would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

If you're getting birds (not day old chicks) from two different farms, you're going to want to do some kind of quarantine so you know both groups are healthy:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...often-underestimated-part-of-raising-chickens


There's lots of good info about introducing new birds (and all kinds of other stuff) in the Learning Center section:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[samsiii]

Thank you for the reply, high street coop I've looked at the adding to your flock link, but I don't think it said anything about if none of the chickens are familiar with the coop. I will definitely keep an eye on them before introducing them to each other. It would probably be easier to quarantine if I get them at different times.

 

[aart]

Putting them all in a new empty coop at once might be the best bet as far as integration is concerned,

if you want to forgo/risk not fully quarantining them(you need a separate coop far away from the other one),

but the 2 groups might still fight.

Best to have them the same size/age/numbers, lots of space, hiding places and multiple feed/water stations.