When to try again...

[Ellen Welch]

I know there are a lot of threads on introducing new hens to an existing flock & I have read them all (well, pretty much all) and I have watched videos on the subject, really trying to educate myself before having to do it with my flock. My laying hens are 1 1/2 years old but I'm down to only 7 now and need more. They are Buff orpingtons and RIR's. I got 4 new Americauna babies in February. They went out to a new addition to the run that I made in late March (we are in South Texas so weather was good). They have been separated by only chicken wire since then. Yesterday I cleaned the coop & added 2 new roosting bars & all new bedding. After they were all going to sleep last night, I snuck out and put the new girls onto the new bars in the coop so they could wake up together. Well, I knew there would be pecking BUT, one of the new ones was pecked to the point of bleeding at her tail. She wouldn't run away from the big girls, she stuck her head in a corner and coward down. I sprayed her wounds with Blue Kote and it seemed to help a little BUT then when I went to check them a while later... somehow, she had forced her way BACK over to the baby side!! (I still have some younger ones not big enough to defend themselves over there)
My question is.... should I move her back to the big girl side?? If so, when? today? tonight while they sleep again?
OR... should I wait a couple weeks? I'm afraid that if she doesn't go with the other 3 , she may get picked on worse. I'm also afraid that she is just not ready.
I will be letting the 6 littlest ones into the flock in about a month or so, should I wait until then??
Thanks for any advice!

 

[KikiLeigh02]

If the other 3 are still in with the main flock I would probably wait to try to re-introduce her with the other new ones when she's a little bigger. If she's on the more docile end she may just need to be bigger before you put her in with the Buffs and RIR's.

 

[bobbi-j]

How big is your coop/run (in feet by feet)? How many chickens altogether will be in this enclosure? Do you have multiple feeders and waterers? How about hiding places where the younger ones can get out of sight of the others? Integration generally takes more space than the often quoted square feet per bird recommended on the site.

 

[lomine]

If it were me, I would put her back in with the bigs tonight. I would add a bunch of hiding places for her to take refuge in/under and items to block line of sight. Distract the older girls with treats in the run to give the younger ones a chance to explore their new home and get comfortable.

 

[Ellen Welch]

How big is your coop/run (in feet by feet)? How many chickens altogether will be in this enclosure? Do you have multiple feeders and waterers? How about hiding places where the younger ones can get out of sight of the others? Integration generally takes more space than the often quoted square feet per bird recommended on the site.

My original run is 12X16 the addition is 10x14 with the little ones taking up about half of that. The coop itself is 6x8. I have an automatic water & feeder system. They have been drinking out of the same water since March (it is reachable on both sides of the runs. I did add extra water in a dish, scattered feed on the ground as well as some ears of fresh corn and an extra portable roost they can jump up to get away.

 

[Ellen Welch]

If it were me, I would put her back in with the bigs tonight. I would add a bunch of hiding places for her to take refuge in/under and items to block line of sight. Distract the older girls with treats in the run to give the younger ones a chance to explore their new home and get comfortable.

I went and sat out side the runs and watched for quite awhile and found that one RIR in particular was being VERY aggressive!! She was attacking and grabbing the little ones by the face! I took her OUT and put her in my chicken tractor (chicken time out!) and the other big girls were much better. They still were being dominate and the little ones were giving way to them BUT there was no aggression once the culprit was out of the picture.
I waited just a bit and went ahead and put the picked on bird back in the big side (after I sprayed her wounds with Blue Kote again) & I watched for a while and they were doing good! I hope it all stays good and then I will put the aggressive RIR back in a few days, hopefully she will behave!

 

[alexa009]

Rhode island reds do have a habit of bullying other breeds so its not such a clever idea to put them with smaller chicks. Have you tried keeping the Rhode island red off the roosting bar instead? If it was pitch black outside she wouldn't be able to find her way back on.

 

[aart]

I hope it all stays good and then I will put the aggressive RIR back in a few days, hopefully she will behave!

There you go! Might take more than a few days...or she might never fit back in.
Is she low in the pecking order amongst the bigs?

 

[Ellen Welch]

Have you tried keeping the Rhode island red off the roosting bar instead? If it was pitch black outside she wouldn't be able to find her way back on.

I took her out completely for a few days. The new girls are a little over 3 months and almost as big as the older ones, just not as filled out. The rest of them are getting along fine & there are 2 other RIR's in the older flock. She is just very aggressive, hopefully I can put her back in a few days and they will get along better.

 

[Ellen Welch]

There you go! Might take more than a few days...or she might never fit back in.
Is she low in the pecking order amongst the bigs?

I hope she straightens out, I don't want to lose her egg production! She seemed to be "top dog" and bossed everyone else around. I don't have a roo so she took on the role of 'protector' I guess.
I was thinking of trying after the weekend, that would be 4 days. Do you think that is enough?? I've never done this before, lol