Our first chickens!!!!!!!

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Nitram

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:D We went to a "Chicken Swap Meet" today and bought two beautiful Red Sex-link pullets! We got them all set up in their new home and they seem to be very happy with the coop, their food, water, grit, oyster shell grit, the run and the outdoor roost. I will put up a pic of the girls tomorrow after we get back from church.

I do have one concern........ I have put up multiple roost in the coop and we have yet to see them use them at all!!!! When I went out to lock them in their coop they were huddled up together in the litter!

Should we be concerned?
 
Takes a while for them to use perches, especially if they haven't seen them before Nitram. Breeders don't necessarily have them in the rearing coops. Best they use them otherwise they can get poo on their bottom feathers, which is to be avoided in Summer because of 'fly strike'. So if you don't want to be washing their bottoms you should train them to use the perches simply by lifting them on after dark.
 
Lovely, I hope they settle in well. How old are they? Any signs of reddening combs? As Chris says pullets usually take a while to get the hang of perching, and you can help them learn by lifting them up on to the perches after dusk, when they've gone to roost. Maybe keep them in the run for a few days to get used to their surroundings before letting them out, as there will be plenty of room for the two of them.
You have however, now got another possible complication to think around. Since these girls will have come from a different place than the other ones you intend to buy, and since they will be well settled in and will feel in charge of the territory by then, you will need to separare any others you get for a couple of weeks quarantine. When chickens move home and have to form part of a new flock, it's always stressful for them, and even if they appear healthy at point of sale the stress often depresses their immune systems so they are more inclined to go down with latent infections they would perhaps otherwise have avoided. Do you know whether these two have been vaccinated? Also, new birds to to a run are always given the runaround by the previous flock as it disturbs the pecking order which has been established in the fist few days and weeks together. This may not be too bad if the pullets are young but you would be best to at least section off part of your run with wire so they can see each other but not fight until they're more used to each other. The ideal way is to get all the new birds from the same place at the same time, so they're all used to each other, have come from the same environment and are all going into a new run together. At least they have lots of space during the day, it will be in the run itself that you I'll have to keep a very careful eye for a while. There may not be any problems, but forewarned is forearmed!
Also, maybe you might like to ask advice from others here who have kept cockerels about what age he should be when you get him. I don't keep cockerels but have read posts suggesting that a young bird may have trouble exerting his authority over hens that don't respect him.
Keeping chickens is really very straightforward, I hope I don't sound like the voice of doom, but its good to avoid problems which might arise.
 
Good morning all. We'll the girls were in the same spot this morning when I opened up the coop and turned on the light they got up and seemed just fine.

Chris they did use the outside roost, should I still put them up onto the inside roost tonight?

Marigold they are 20 weeks, very close to laying, they have been vaccinated. Wow, I had not thought of introducing the new ones coming at the end of this month, I will need to figure some way to split the 2 we just got from the others. The new ones, including the rooster will be 22 weeks when we get them so the ages of all of them will be very close.

Thanks for all the advice, this is why I am glad this forum and all of you are here.
 
I would make sure they roost securely at night Nitram. I assume the perch is 2" wide with rounded edges, otherwise they won't like it?

You will have no problems with a rooster the same age as the hens. Big problems can start if the rooster is much younger or is smaller than his predecessor.

The others will need to be vaccinated the same as the two you have. I think in this case introducing the whole lot of newbies in one go will most probably be alright. I would start with the rooster then one hen at a time. There is a small chance the first two may get a bit aggressive to the newbies, even with a young cockerel among them. I've seen two hens take on and defeat a dozen others -feathers everywhere! Problem is the fighting makes them tired and if blood is drawn on either of the two originals cannibalism by the newbies is always a possibility. So being aware of all that they need to be watched very carefully for a while -you may need to break things up. Plenty of space is required and extra feeders and drinkers will diffuse the friction areas.
 
By the time you get the new ones, the first pair will have sussed out the roosting problem, so if you separate them during the day you could put the new ones on the perches after the first ones have gone to roost. This won't be proper quarantine, they should really be kept entirely separate for at least 2-3 weeks, but if you know the possible risks and feel pretty sure they have come from a reputable place and are vaccinated, it may be OK to take a chance if you don't have separate housing for them all. You may need to separate them again during the day, especially if they are all in the run, which as you say is too small for that many birds and will cause stress.
There have been people on here who have regretted introductions made too early without quarantine, because there are some strains of disease, especially mycoplasma and infectious bronchitis, that will infect a whole flock very fast if even one newcomer is sneezing. That's why it's really good, if possible, to introduce a whole bunch from the same place at the same time, because they will have some acquired immunity to whatever biohazards they will all have grown up with, as well as overcoming the problem of flock hierarchy.
 
Chris the perches are 2 inches and round, I was pleased to find one perching inside when we got back from church. I actually gave them the choice of round or square with rounded edges.

Marigold the place we are buying the new ones from has been in the business for over 50 years and in a rural area reputation is the only way to stay in business, they are vaccinated they are very experienced with chickens.

I am hoping that the new ones come in the morning, that way we can introduce them one at a time and be able to isolate/referee any major trouble makers or victims. I am worried about introducing the new ones...... We have made our bed and will have to lay in it now.

Oh yea, one more thing, the girls have not been out in the run at all today and it is beautiful day, should we be concerned?
 
Don't introduce them one at time, or each will get beaten up. Chris was talking about introducing hens one at a time to a new cockerel to the flock, not a bunch of new pullets to the flock, I think. You should set up your run so that the two you have already have a small space, divided fom the rest of the run by wire netting, and with feeder and drinker in each. More than one feeder will be best for the larger number of new ones, and when ventually they are inroduced fully, keep on providing several points for water and food in case anyone gets bullied off a single one.
At least your new batch will have the advantage of numbers over the two you already have. Give them a chance to sort themselves out a bit and form bonds, as the fist two will have done, then all should be well. There will be some scrapping, jugs watch out for actual bloodshed and if it happens remove an injured bird immediately or the others will peck at her wound. Have some antibiotic powder or purple antiseptic spray ready in your chicken first aid kit, and then with luck you won't need it!
 
Thanks for the suggestion marigold, we are getting one cockerel of the same age as all the others when should we put the cockerel in?
 
If he is the same immature age as the others you can just put him in with the other newest batch. Trouble usually arises when a new or 'teenage' cockerel is introduced to a batch of older hens who have their own top hen and may not be impressed by his immature efforts at flock control!
You said they didn't come out at all yesterday - as they are not laying I would make them come out today, and make sure they are eating and drinking OK. Its best not to keep feed or water in the coop itself as it gets contaminated, so they must come out to eat and drink. I expect they are still shell shocked at the change of surroundings, especially if they came via all the excitement and stress of a chicken swap meet. Your other newbies should be calmer if you can just bring them home quietly from the breeder. As regards quarantine, the ones you are about to get will possibly be more at risk from the ones you already have, as these will have been in contact with lots of other chickens at the swap meet, so its good that you are keeping them under observation for a week or two on their own before adding any new ones straight from the farm.
 
Thanks again Marigold. We feel like new parents with our first child :ugeek: They were both on a roost side by side in the coop when I locked up the coop, I just finished opening the coop for the day............ The girls were back down in the litter cuddling and cooing! They went right to eating when I turned on the light. We have these fancy hanging feeding and watering cans in the coop that some of the locals here say work well inside because they are high enough to keep rodents out as well as keeping the girls from kicking stuff into the food or water. If we do find that they are some how getting their food or water dirty we will move them outside.

Again thank you all for your input!
 
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