When to add the new girls to existing flock?

[jen61871]

How can I determine when I can add my new 3 girls (18 weeks old) to my existing flock of 4 girls? (Less then 1 yr)
I have had the new girls for a little over a week. They have been separated by a wire fence. I read to wait at least a month but they don't appear to have any problems with each other-thru the fence. So I am wondering how to tell..
Thanks

 

[Den in Penn]

Most of us here use a one week period of the through the wire separation before he physical introduction. If there doesn't seem to be any overt reactions now it looks good. So I would let them mingle now and watch them.

 

[btruegs]

You should start introducing them now. I recently added an adopted bird to my flock.

http://www.citygirlchickens.com/new_chickens.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/649437/adding-new-chickens-to-an-existing-flock

Best of luck. Let me know how it goes.

 

[jen61871]

You should start introducing them now. I recently added an adopted bird to my flock.

http://www.citygirlchickens.com/new_chickens.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/649437/adding-new-chickens-to-an-existing-flock

Best of luck. Let me know how it goes.

Thanks for the great articles! They were very helpful. I have not yet mixed them because one of my hens has turned broody-one of the older girls. Should I wait until she is over it? She is not mean at all even when I'm in the coop, she just stays by herself, sitting there lol Or doesn't it matter? Also, the way their coops are side by side with chicken wire separating them. Will they know to go back in their own coops at night in the beginning? Or doesn't it matter?

 

[aart]

Get any eggs out from under the broody daily until you decide what to do with her.....then you'll see if she's 'mean' or not.
If she's not sitting the nest day and night for 3 days, she might not be broody but ill or hiding.

Do you want the broody to hatch some more chicks for you?
Do you have fertilized eggs to give her?
Do you have room for more chickens.......and are you willing to 'manage' the inevitable cockerels?

If no to any of those Q's, break her of her broodiness.
If yes, you have some other things to learn about.
Both managing a broody and breaking a broody is searchable here on BYC, lots of info.



The birds will probably remain in separate 'flocks' for a while, going to their respective coops at night to roost.
How you might want them housed in the future is up to you, there are options.

 

[jen61871]

Get any eggs out from under the broody daily until you decide what to do with her.....then you'll see if she's 'mean' or not.
If she's not sitting the nest day and night for 3 days, she might not be broody but ill or hiding.

Do you want the broody to hatch some more chicks for you?
Do you have fertilized eggs to give her?
Do you have room for more chickens.......and are you willing to 'manage' the inevitable cockerels?

If no to any of those Q's, break her of her broodiness.
If yes, you have some other things to learn about.
Both managing a broody and breaking a broody is searchable here on BYC, lots of info.



The birds will probably remain in separate 'flocks' for a while, going to their respective coops at night to roost.
How you might want them housed in the future is up to you, there are options.

Today I moved her because she has not been out for at least 2 days or more but has been broody for more days then that and I found 3 eggs under her (she did not act out when I moved her though she wasn't thrilled). Are these eggs still good to eat???
I do not have fertilized eggs to give her I only have hens.
Yes I do have enough room for the girls my boyfriend built another coop for the 3 new girls though I think there would have been enough room in the coop we have, so plenty of room
Are there other ways to break a hen from being broody other then putting her in a cage? I'm not sure I really want to do that for one, and I will also have to buy one if I do
Thanks so much!!

 

[Den in Penn]

Eggs don't go bad after three days under a broody, otherwise they wouldn't have the time to develop if they were fertile. If they were fertile you could still eat them, but the yuck factor of a developing egg would be high. The only other sure way I know to make a broody stop is to let her raise chicks. You can try to break her by keeping her off the nest, that has worked for some.

 

[jen61871]

Eggs don't go bad after three days under a broody, otherwise they wouldn't have the time to develop if they were fertile. If they were fertile you could still eat them, but the yuck factor of a developing egg would be high. The only other sure way I know to make a broody stop is to let her raise chicks. You can try to break her by keeping her off the nest, that has worked for some.

Thank you for the answer on the eggs. So are you saying if I don't keep her out of the coop she will just continue to be broody?
Thanks for answering my questions. SO much to learn!

 

[aart]

I wouldn't eat eggs that had been under a broody for 3 days, might cook them up and feed them to her tho.

Using a broody cage is the easiest and quickest way to break them IMO.......
.....but you could just try throwing her off the nest as many times a day as you can, that can work but takes longer and not as finite.

You could just let her sit but remove eggs everyday if other hens are laying there.


My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop and I would feed her some watered down crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two.

Nipple water bottle added after pic was taken.

 

[jen61871]

I wouldn't eat eggs that had been under a broody for 3 days, might cook them up and feed them to her tho.

Using a broody cage is the easiest and quickest way to break them IMO.......
.....but you could just try throwing her off the nest as many times a day as you can, that can work but takes longer and not as finite.

You could just let her sit but remove eggs everyday if other hens are laying there.


My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop and I would feed her some watered down crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two.

Nipple water bottle added after pic was taken.

Thank you! I am going to start with removing her from the nest since I haven't tried that yet