You know what, these girls are not working out for you, definitely decreasing your enjoyment of your flock. Flock dynamics are important, and have a real personality. I think I would get rid of those girls. Either cull them or rehome them.
One only gets so much time, why spend it with chickens that are disrupting the whole flock. I think a month is long enough. I am pretty sure that the wild, flight hysteria that your new girls have are upsetting your original flock, and you are losing out on laying all around. I have often gotten other chickens, and mine have settled in pretty quickly.
The only other issue is space? And if it is space, getting rid of them will settle things back down.
Once I had 10 chickens, and I lost 2 to predators, and then I realized, that my perfect set up in the run/coop that I have is 8. It makes a big difference in the flock dynamics, and stress. I hatched out chicks this summer, and as they got bigger, I could feel the stress rising in the coop, I am not sure how to explain it, but as winter came on, and they free ranged less due to the shorter days, and predators, I could tell a big difference when I processed my roos. 8 head works best for me.
The simple solutions, may not be the breed, but just get rid of these girls.
MrsK
One only gets so much time, why spend it with chickens that are disrupting the whole flock. I think a month is long enough. I am pretty sure that the wild, flight hysteria that your new girls have are upsetting your original flock, and you are losing out on laying all around. I have often gotten other chickens, and mine have settled in pretty quickly.
The only other issue is space? And if it is space, getting rid of them will settle things back down.
Once I had 10 chickens, and I lost 2 to predators, and then I realized, that my perfect set up in the run/coop that I have is 8. It makes a big difference in the flock dynamics, and stress. I hatched out chicks this summer, and as they got bigger, I could feel the stress rising in the coop, I am not sure how to explain it, but as winter came on, and they free ranged less due to the shorter days, and predators, I could tell a big difference when I processed my roos. 8 head works best for me.
The simple solutions, may not be the breed, but just get rid of these girls.
MrsK
