If the older hens get too dominant then separate them and place the pullets back into the safe zone! Many thanks Claire. Ive had a 2 yr old RIR rooster and hen, I recently bought 2 baby Americaunas, the hen is constantly attacking them and the chicks wont go up inside the cope at night. What can i do? They are free range chickens. Hi Julianne, I would wait until the chicks are at least weeks until you introduce them… Claire. Hi Claire, just wondering if You need to isolate a sick chicken for say a week or more, would you need to start again to re introduce them back into the flock, or would other chickens just accept them back ok?
But after reading your article I am concerned because of the size difference and the fact that one of my Comets is a bit of a bully.
I very concerned about the two breeds mixing and not sure what to do about it at this point. Any ideas? Great article, thank you! We have 3 rescue ex-battery hens and just took on an extra chicken after her flock were killed. They are all roughly the same size and age and have the whole garden to roam around so no issue with space. While there is some squabbling, there is no actual contact so nobody is getting injured — however, new girl has started pulling her feathers out.
Is this she stressed? Could it be partly seasonal Autumn here in NZ? Many thanks! I know the article says not to only introduce one chicken but we only have one new chicken as the law where I live is 6 chickens. Is there a good way to introduce just one new chicken once she is big enough?
I would be extra cautious and make sure they are free ranging when you do introduce them. We were down to two chickens at the end of last year and bought chicks this year live in the suburbs.
However, after 1. They drew blood twice on one of the chicks, and the second time it looked worse than the first. Hi Kate, The problem is the chicks are still too young to be introduced. You need to wait until the chicks are big enough to protect themselves- probably somewhere around 16 weeks.
Hi Claire, I raised 5 chicks from the time they were 1 day old. At 12 weeks old, my ameraucana started crowing, so I rehome him. The following day, by barred rock also started crowing, so this morning we delivered him to a sanctuary. I plan on getting 2 pulletss of similar age, and introduce them will make things easier, if I get the same breed, I.
A barred rock and a ameraucana? If she is a bully she will cause trouble regardless of the breed. If possible observe the hens you are buying in their own flock before you buy them and see how they interact with other flock members. Hello, we had just 2 chicks, one died of old age this week right in front of the other. We have introduced two new young birds now, and at first they were absolutely fine.
However as the days have gone in, the old bird paces unless we talk to her, and the younger ones only ever come out of the house when the older bird goes to lay. And vice versa.
There is no violence and theyre in a house with a run. Lots of foxes round here. Is okay to put the new girls in the addition run for a week or so and then. Introduce them? That free range on the weekends. Hi Daren, As previously mentioned I would not introduce them until they are a similar size to your existing flock. This will likely be another 10 weeks yet.
Hi, I have 4 chickens, 2 White Leghorns and 2 light sussex, i found a lost hen in the woods near my house, she was in a poor state and very hungry, she is now fine and after about 2 weeks is now OK with the existing flock, she now sleeps on a tree branch at night and will not enter the coop, any tips on how i can get her to go into the coop. Hi Robert, Once she goes to roost on a tree branch you can simply pick her up and place her inside the coop.
After a few goes at moving her she will get the idea! Claire, Thank you so much for this, i will try this tomorrow night with her, we need to get her in the coop before the weather turns and this advice is perfect.
Thank you…….. Hello I have 1bantum left out of an original flock of 3 — we kept them in an original Omlet Eglu. I am now considering buying the Omlet Cube and have 6 further bantums. Should I just put her in the new Cube with the new flock or should I keep her separate for a while and introduce her to them free range in the garden after the new flock have settled in? Hi Rosemary, If the 6 bantams are all new to each other, then I would also include the existing bantams when you introduce them all to each other.
However if the 6 bantams are already in a flock together then introduce the existing bantam during free range. Hello, I had to remove on of my chickens from the flock due to an injury. She is very scared and the other chickens are pecking at her and chasing her.
Thanks for all your advice! We have two 1-year-old hens at home, and this past week got 2 new week-old reds. Hi Nicole, You can buy mixed flock feed for them. Hi- I have one 10 week old Bresse chicken. I was supposed to get two from a friend, but the other one escaped before I could collect them. I want her to have another chicken as company and wondered if I could buy a POL chicken similar sized in a couple of weeks time and introduce it into the coop?
Would it be okay to buy just one, or would you recommend a pair to add? Hi Priya, It sounds to me like you have one hen and are introducing another, is this correct? If so then yes you can just introduce her on her own. Hi, I have one 4-year old Rhode Island hen from my old flock left, and two Rhode Island chicks who are three weeks old.
You have written how important size is. And should I follow the process you describe above? Thanks you! Hello, We got 4 baby chicks in April hatched first week do April, all different breeds. Our baby New Hampshire Red became acutely lame and stopped walking altogether. We brought her in the house and she is now walking but markedly slower than the rest. We take her outside daily and she loves to scratch and explore. Has always loved to eat, drink, very sweet with us and our dog.
Any advice on transitioning our sweet special needs girl outdoors with her sisters? The rest are a Buff Orpington almost 1. Thank you!!! Hi, I had an existing flock of 13 hens years old a mixture of Easter eggers, golden Polish, and speckled Sussex. I was getting on an average of eggs per day and I just rescued 13 from a friend of mine.
I have 2 horse stalls with dowels for roosts but mainly one coop with the water and food. They get cracked corn in the morning and have available Premium layer pellets Is there anything I can do to get them to lay? I have 1 week old Bresse chicken and would like to add, ideally 2 more chickens to keep her company! Any particular breeds you think would work best? And do you think it best to get 2 of the same breed to add, or 3 different ones- so that none are the same??
Hi I have just introduced 1 chicken to our small flock of 3. They are highlanders. The new chicken has been hiding behind a bush all day and night and the other 3 are making a hell of a noise. She is eating today I have put out a separate food bowl for her.
She is a bit smaller and younger I think. What can I do to help them please? And the pecking continues even on the roosts. Any suggestions. Hi, Claire! We just have a two-chicken city permit. One of our dears died. Helena needs a new partner. Thanks for your advice, Rachel. Hi, We have a flock of five three-month-old birds, but it will be four, as our roo needs to be rehomed. We have one Wyandotte and three Silkies. We will be adding two eight-month-old Cochin sisters in a few days.
Is there anything I need to do differently, as the established flock is younger and smaller? Hi, I have one 2 year old light Sussex and recently got another 5 month old light Sussex.
I have been keeping them apart but they can see each other and I give them short amount of time together and then let them sleep together at night separating them again during the day. There is a little bit of pecking but not too much. I would like to add another girl, would I then put the 2 newbies in together and continue on as I have been or will they then try to establish a pecking order. Not quite sure what to do or should I just wait till these 2 are sorted then get 2 new girls??
Each introduction will most likely cause pecking order to begin, if they were mine I would put them all together and let the pecking order take place once. Hi Claire, I have 7 Leghorns that are 2 years old. The chicks all get along very well and have been together from the start. When could I introduce the leghorns to the chick and are there any concerns I should be aware of? Thank you for your advice. I have had success as early as 4 to 5 weeks but at that age I use the cage method.
Leave then in a cage in the run area for several days until your older hens are used to their presence. Hi there! I have 2 Wyandotte girls that are a year old. I got 5 more pullets Brahmas that are now months old and almost as big as the older girls. I want them to all get along and go into the coop at night but the oldies just want to beat up the younger girls.
We just went through this and go through this every season. What has proven to work best for us, for this specific situation, is make sure the coop has a little bit more room. Is this possible in your circumstance? At around months we would sometimes cage the young ones and put them inside the coop, the older ones could not peck and start getting used to the idea.
This has always worked as well. I have six buff orpington hens that are just a year old. The first three days were kind of rough but I was there supervising. Brought the young ones out early in the morning and then let the hens out and the first thing my one buff orpington Queenie goes and chases one of the chicks and grabs a feather and eats it.
So, I would take the parrot and put him in his cage and cover the cage up. And it worked. This seems to have improved the situation. I plan to introduce them into the coop permanently as the Final Phase shortly.
Wish me luck! I wish I had found this earlier, but here we are. They were in the same group in the store and got along well, but the orp was clearly a little older and the boss. We are allowed up to 4 birds and had the change to get a much larger coop, so we decided to add two more girls. At this time, they were about weeks old, and we found 2 10 week old girls, another wyandotte and and easter egg. We were told to move all 4 to the new coop at the same time, so when we got home with the new ones, we let them all out in the run together.
At first it was all actually really calm, but then the new wyandotte started picking on the 9 week original wyandotte, and when our 11 week orpington saw that, she ran over and protected her friend. Other than that, they all were OK. They went up into the coop together and slept, the easter egg and the smaller wyandotte actually nestled in the same nesting box.
This morning, the two original birds, the 9 week and the 11 week were out in the run and the two 10 week birds were in the coop. The food and water is in the run, so whenever the 10 weekers tried to go get food or water in the run, our 11 weeker chases them up to the coop again. This is just the first day after introducing them. Should we just wait it out at this point and let them figure things out.. Any advice would be greatly received.
This is a natural process, no matter what the pecking order will happen. Here is some more info on the pecking order.
Our neighbors dog killed one of our 13 hens, and they are planning an replacing her with one adult layer. The article details how to properly introduce them, try out one of these options and let us know how it goes.
How should I make them roost with the current flock, they push them away as they try to go up the ramp to the house at duck. You will need to introduce them by hand in the evening after the adult chickens are roosted introduce the young ones into the coop. They will eventually settle and be accepted. I have done this many times. I have a slightly unusual situation. I made the terrible mistake of forgetting to shut the coop one night and a fox got 3 of my 4 easter egg hens. I would now like to add two or 3 hens similar age but different breed to my one remaining hen.
How do I introduce multiple birds to a flock of one. I have a wire crate that I can sit by my coop, but it is to small to house three birds for an extended time. Given the fox trouble, I have greatly reduced my free range time. Start with first acclimating one to the remaining hen. Then introduce the next.
Or if the two already do well together, you could ease in the one hen to the flock of the new two. It really is just trial and error. If one gets fiesty you separate them for a few days and this could shake up the pecking order and you would be able to try again.
Keep in mind the pecking order is a normal and natural process. It is apart of the pecking order. It is normal but commonly bothers many people, if you have tried all your options, separating them for good is the only full proof plan. Here are some articles that may help. Wait until they are of similar size and follow the same process as the article details above.
Raccoons got all but one of my chickens about 6 months ago. At first the lone chicken was miserable stayed in a laying box even when her coup door was open. In the last four months she has begun to lay again and spends her days free-ranging and following me around.
I Got 16 Baby chicks They are in a separate pen that has a door to the main coup and pen. They are 8 weeks old and I plan to introduce them at 18 weeks when they are old enough for lay pellets. There is one rooster in my flock and I am worried about introducing my single chicken to the new flock. Do you have any tips? Recent predation problems took his last hen. After being alone, he needs some new ladies. Can I introduce them without separating them, since its 3 nice hens that grew up together, coming in to be with 1 rooster?
I have 2 4 month old pulleyts and 1 4 month old cockere 2 silkies and 1 sultan l. I also have 5 1 year old chickens 3 silkies, one is a rooster, 1 silkie Cochin cross, and one Wyandotte , I tried to introduce them but the sultan is getting so beat up. What should I do. Hello, I have 3 buffs that are about 16 weeks old the oldest just stared laying that all came together as pullets.
They seem to have no pecking order at all. The buffs were scared of the barred rock and would run from her so when I was dusk I put the barred rock in the coop where the buffs already were in there and stood to watch for a couple minutes and they were quiet right away. I just checked on them and they are all sleeping Did I get lucky or are they gonna bully the barred rock tomorrow? Hello, I currently have 3 laying hen. I just bought 4 new baby chicks. Chicks are of course in a brooder now. I have a large coop already, do I need another or will simply waiting until chicks are grown and introducing slow work?
Is that good enough? I have 6 pullets, about weeks old, that I just introduced to their outdoor chicken coop. Is there an issue with doing this or will the hen assume top spot without hurting the pullets? I have a simlar question to Eric…. I have 2 hens and 1 rooster, all 10 months old. I let my old 3 out to free range the other day for the first time no chicks present and once he was out the rooster came after me and chased me. He clapped his wings any time I was too close. I was so surprised!
He usually avoids me. Is this springtime hormones or will this be an issue? Any suggestions how to introduce them? I have 2 white crested black polish bantam chickens who are about 4 years old. We used to have 4 but the other 2 passed away.
We are starting our flock shortly but 3 of the 6 birds will not be ready for weeks after the initial birds. They will be 9 weeks old for the first 3 and the 2nd batch will be around 7 weeks old. Do you think the introduction process will still be necessary? I have a flock of seven hens. Four are light brahmas and probably around a year old and I got them last summer and three are an orpington and two saphire gems maybe three or four years old. They all free range, but we also have a fenced in area outside of their coop that has a gate leading to our yard.
I want to get four pullets this week and was wondering how I should let the older chickens out and allow for the new chickens to get exercise? We have 4 new hens that are 3 months old, they are still half the size of our adult hens. I am worried about the rooster mating with such young birds. But all the established hens are large breeds.
Do you have advice for mixing young hens with established roosters? I have a new flock of 8 pullets at 15 weeks old. We have them outside in a 2 stage enclosure separated from our year old flock. They have been out there for 2 weeks. Wish me luck. My question is about the food? The pullets have been on the grower crumbles. My layers eat the pellets.
Can they all eat the same food now? If not how would I accomplish separate feeding in an open enclosure? About a week later I got 3 laying hens from a Hutterite colony. The rooster did not accept them so I separated them by a wire fence in the same coop, hoping to integrate them later.
I have 4 RIR that are currently about 8 weeks old and are already happily living in the coop and run. However, we decided we wanted more hens, so now have 10 Leghorns that are currently 2 weeks old. Is introducing 10 hens to the original 4 going to be too overwhelming when the time comes? Or can we introduce that many at once?? I feel bad for my RIR? They are going to get seriously outnumbered soon, and they are just so sweet.
I have 4 X 16 week birds added to my flock. My other girls are 5x 1. They were starting to sleep in coop after a bit too with them on the hens side Coop divided. Some fighting but not terrible. The hens still chase the new ones off outside if they cross paths free ranging. Do I just throw them in and hope for the best? I have 3 chickens about 4 months old 1 hen, 2 roos?
I also got 2 adult bantams and we are getting eggs from them but the original 3 peck them when they got out because we had to lift the pen to get 1 bantam from behind the wall. Also got 2 5 mon hens and these are all separated but i am thinking this will be nits to introduce them all soon! I was just trying to get hens for the dang roo! The 2 full size hens are bigger than the original 3 so should I introduce them first then let the batmans in and the chicks later when they are bigger?
The good news is that there are several steps you can take to make sure the introduction goes smoothly:. You may also want to consider putting your older hens in a second enclosure for a few hours so the younger chickens can find the food and water without being chased off and intimidated.
To give your newcomers some refuge, consider adding some escape routes for the still-developing pullets. An easy, economical solution is to place cardboard boxes in the coop, with cutouts small enough for a younger hen to escape, but too large for your older hens to fit through.
Giving the newbies a place to get away from the bullying can help them stay healthy and confident until the older hens get acclimated to having them around. Overall, keep an eye on things until all your chickens are used to living together. The flock will be happy again, and the egg production will show it. This article has some great and super simple ideas for ample distractions.
If possible, place both your old and new hens in an entirely new and different location- be it a makeshift coop or fenced off area. This throws your older girls off balance, as it is not their home, and so they are more likely to be less defensive, and harsh towards the newcomers.
As difficult as it is to witness, you have to expect a certain amount of bullying- even in the best handled situations. New chickens means a new pecking order is to be established and so to keep their spot, fighting will unfortunately be involved. After a week or so, things will start to sort themselves out, your chickens will accept the new additions, and peace will be restored within your flock once again.
If you're interested to learn more about how to keep happy and healthy chickens, our friends at Chickenpedia have some of the best online chicken keeping courses so I encourage all my readers to check it out. Sources and further reading. Just click the Request Help button and fill in the form. Ask an Expert. Thank you for joining our mailing list! All Rights Reserved.
Menu 0. Continue Shopping Your Cart is Empty. Work in Pairs or More Being introduced into an already established flock can be very daunting for a solo chicky. Only Introduce Birds of a Similar Size and Age Chickens can be real bullies, especially when they have smaller, weaker birds to pick on.
Add New Birds at Night Your chickens should be settled and quietly roosting when the sun goes down, so this is the best time to introduce new flock members, giving them a little time to familiarise themselves with their new living arrangements before the chaos of the day begins. Start out Slowly- Ease Them In We have found that when adding to your flock, the best success comes from putting newcomers near your existing chickens, not actually with them.
Provide Distractions By adding things such as bales of hay, or hanging a lettuce in the run , it will provide as a great distraction when introducing new flock members. Introduce in a New Location If possible, place both your old and new hens in an entirely new and different location- be it a makeshift coop or fenced off area. Well, thankfully, chickens need little care and maintenance. So, you have a LOT of free happy-go-clucky time to Not only do chickens provide protein rich, nutrition packed The Ultimate List of Backyard Chicken Breeds by Kassandra Smith January 12, Whether you are a beginner chicken keeper or looking to add a new chicken breed to your backyard flock of chooks, there are so many Eggs Raising Baby Chicks.
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