New chickens

[hedgehogsdad]

Hi all

I bought 4 new girls at the weekend to go with our 4 current hens. They are 2 Marians', a cream legbar and and a Chezch Brindle, all just about POL. The are living in a second coop with an attached run, and I'm keen to move the to our bigger, main coop. Question is, do I let the out from the second coop, and as a result have to teach them to settle in the main coop, or, do I move them to the new coop at night and let them out from there the following morning?

Help....

 

[Darkwings]

Whenever I have introduced new chickens I put them in the coop that they will call home. Normally for the first day or so I will leave them in a wire cage or dog crate so everyone can see each other. Then put them all together at night. This way they can all roost together and will wake up together. I

f your two coops are side by side and they can already see each other maybe just put them together right before they go into roost. Sort of the same idea as above. H

Hope this helps.

 

[Marigold]

If the new ones are just about coming up to POL, they will be much more immature than the resident hens. it would be better to give them a couple of weeks at least in their own coop and run, because this acts as a quarantine time in case any illness emerges. It's quite common for this to happen to hens as a result of the stress of moving to a new place, as stress depresses their immune systems. Also, even a couple of weeks will help them grow a bit more mature and confident for when they take on the 'big girls.' and to get to know you and settle in to their new home. During this time you could give them their 7-day course of Flubenvet so they are clear of worms before introducing them to the flock, and do the older hens as well if they haven't been dosed for 4 months or more, so they all start clear at the same time. If the fixed run is a bit small for them but you are not confident about catching them if let out before they have become 'homed' and tame, maybe you could arrange a temporary extension with chicken netting? I do this with new hens and put lightweight butterfly mesh over the top to stop them flying out.
When you want to introduce them, yes, doing it after roosting time at night is good. You can try wiping or spraying both old and new birds with something smelly like lavender or vinegar, so they all smell the same and sleep together as a flock. Be on hand early next day in case of any serious fighting, and provide more than one feeder and drinker for a while in case any of them is bullied off food and water. Hiding places will be appreciated as well! If the new ones look seriously stressed you can give them a bit of 'time out' by netting off a corner of the run for them to rest, feed and drink in peace for a while.
They sound a really pretty and interesting bunch - can you post any pictures? I've never seen a Czech Brindle.

 

[foxy]

When you do decide to integrate them, it is recommended to do this at night, it does take a couple of weeks to sort out the pecking order so keep an eye out for any serious bullying.

If you have plenty of room in the new run this will help tremendously. Pop a spare drinker/ feeder in the run, often the more mature birds will use intimidation to keep the new birds away from feeders.

Placing a wire run nearby can help integration so they can see each other but not fight a good way for a new flock to get to know each other. This is better after any period of initial separation as the proximity to each other in this familiarity process would negate any quarantining efforts.

Good luck with them! 17