Integrating new hens - advice needed

[Pony Girl]

I am planning on getting 2 new brown ranger hens in February and would be grateful for some advice on how to integrate them with the rest of my flock: 2 bantams and a favorelle.

I've got an a Flights of Fancy house, which has an enclosed run area beneath it, which I usually leave open in the day so that they can free range a larger enclosed area in the garden. The garden area itself has a bit of shelter with a small tree and bush but nothing else undercover but I do not have a seperate run and housing per say (except a dog carrier that I use as a hen hospital / broody house, which would easily take 3 birds comfortably.

I was planning to do this:
1. Bring new hens home and shut them upstairs with food and water.
2. Open the pop hole at dusk and let the existing hens go to bed as usual and meet the others at night
3. In the morning take out old hens and shut them out in garden
4. Keep run closed and open pop hole so new hens can come out by themselves and can explore the run and see the others in the garden without being in physical contact.

Do you think this is ok? I have done it before with success when introducing just one bird to the flock but have never introduced two newbies before. I've also never done it at this time of year and am not sure what to do if we have bad weather with the oldies being stuck in the garden. By the way neither banties or favorelle are in lay and not expecting them to start until March so shouldn't have to worry about where they can lay their eggs if they're shut outside.

Any advice or tips would be great. Is there anything you can spray on them to make them smell the same?

 

[mollteaser]

This is what I was going, shutting the old ones out of the run, but in the pen, and hearding them all in too bed at night. Do they could see and smell each other..Fine in the coop, a few pecks and squabbles during letting out time. They are all in together now..the previous bottom chook is still being aggressive, but its the odd peck and run...no blood drawn....I've got lots of sources of food and water down too. Good luck x

 

[Marigold]

What you suggest would probably work as far as avoiding bloodshed was concerned but doesn't address the need for at least minimum quarantine for new birds. Moving home is stressful to poultry and this depresses their immune systems so they are more likely to succumb to health problems such as infectious bronchitis after arrival, which might have been present unnoticed in the larger flock from whence they came. Also, if you put them straight in with your existing birds at night, there is the chance that parasites, bacteria and viruses will be passed to your birds from the prolonged close contact in the coop.
Many of us, like you and me, haven't got the luxury of enough space to completely separate new birds for the recommended 2-3 weeks, but it's a very good idea at least to improvise some sort of temporary coop for them to sleep separately, and preferably provide an enclosure where they can live during the day and see the other birds without coming into direct contact with them. It doesn't have to be a proper coop with perches etc, but it does have to be waterproof, windproof, ventilated, and safe from predators. Then you'll have the chance to observe them after they arrive, treat with parasite powder, and take a week to give them a course of Flubenvet unless the breeder assures you they have been wormed with flubenvet in the prevuious month. It also gives the new hens a chance to recover from the move and settle down with each other, before having to take on the social problems of integrating with the old hens. I've found that pullets kept like this for a week or two are a good support to each other when they have to meet the older, more dominant birds, and create a friendship which lasts the rest of their lives together.
Then, when you're happy that they've settled in and are healthy, you can put them with the other birds at night, after all of them have gone to roost, and observe early next day to check that everything is basically OK and no blood is being shed. Provide extra feeders and drinkers, of course, and if the new ones seem to be being bullied a lot in the first day or so, give them a bit of 'time out' during the day on their own to feed and rest in peace before returning them to the flock.

 

[chrismahon]

I agree entirely with Marigold Pony Girl. You need to knock up some kind of coop and run for a few weeks. Before I built rearing units we used an old plastic water tank on its side for a coop and put that inside a broody run. You could buy 4 linking panels to make a run. Appreciate there is a security issue but otherwise, although your method could work, you are taking a big risk. Your hybrids will have been treated with live innoculation viruses for IB and ILT. They can be contageous when stressed for at least 12 months anyway so may pass these on to your existing hens, both viruses at the same time so they could be very ill. I would advise that you create a temporary run anyway and buy two Utility Pedigrees that haven't been innoculated -genuine Light Sussex (there are hybrids called the same) ,Rhode Island Reds, White Wyandottes, Black Orpingtons (good laying strain), Leghorns and many others. They may not lay as many in such a short time but they will live and lay for a lot longer.

 

[Pony Girl]

Thanks, guys. I never quarantined the others before so I guess I've been extremely lucky but I do want to do the best by my birds.

I use a large dog carrier for a hen hospital / broody coop.

It's dimensions are: 68 x 49 x 45.5cm;

See link for picture: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/atlas-wire-door-dog-carrier-by-ferplast-13643

Do you think this might be okay for my new girls temporarily? Not ideal but I'm running out of options as we simply don't have much room in our set up unfortunately...

 

[Marigold]

Yes i should think you could put them in there to roost at night, if you could make some kind of shelter over the top to keep it waterproof and a bit more windproof. it looks well ventilated, in fact you could cover in part of the sides with plastic to make it a bit less exposed, and put some woodshavings on the floor for comfort. And then if you could make a temporary run, with panels as Chris suggests, or find some recycled wire netting (at the dump?) to enclose them, they would be OK. Could you maybe put them in a corner of the garden so the existing fencing would provide two of the sides? Best of all, buy or make a moveable grass run with a wire netting top, which will be very useful and if you get the right kind, can be dismantled and stored flat when not needed.
It's actually a very good idea to have worked out some ideas for temporary accomodation, because not only will you be getting new hens from time to time, but emergencies do occur when you need to be able to set up a separate coop and little run quickly.