mrs chook Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Well we're back from the chicken breeder. Decided on a White Sussex and a Silver Coucou (?) Little did I realise when I rang about two Marans exactly how free range the lady had her girlies . After a good 15-20 mins of her roaming through five foot high nettles and after the one Maran she did catch made a bid for freedom (successfully, I might add ) We decided to have a white sussex and whatever else she could catch. So she let us have the Silver Coucou instead, she was going to have it herself Enough twittering - HELP PLEASE! She said put them in with Priss and Bertha at dusk TONIGHT and keep them all in run/Eglu for a few days then all will be well. None of this gradual business with her, no messing! The newbies are in the shed at the mo in a large former chinchilla cage to calm down and aclimatise. What to do next I'm nervous about a dust up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I have never introduced new chickens, but all I have read on this forum tells me that gradual is the way to go. If you do take the breeders advice I would be up very early tomorrow morning to make sure the all hell hasn't broken loose. Good luck whatever you decide to do. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Take it slowly - there can be real problem if you rush things. I know how hard it is - my preferred breeder is a bung 'em in sort of chap, but reading some tales of woe on here I know that I would rather stroll safely than run & trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 HELP PLEASE! She said put them in with Priss and Bertha at dusk TONIGHT and keep them all in run/Eglu for a few days then all will be well. None of this gradual business with her, no messing! The newbies are in the shed at the mo in a large former chinchilla cage to calm down and aclimatise. What to do next I'm nervous about a dust up In your place, I would go with all the advice you have had on this forum - which is that introductions should be done very very slowly, like over three months. That way, you and the hens won't suffer. If you follow the breeder's advice, and she is wrong, both you and the hens will be unhappy. Hens can do each other a lot of damage - sometimes fatal - in a very short period, like a few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs chook Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 Thanks Since posting I have re-read through Superkate and Claret's advice on the sticky locked forum and have decided that 'slow and steady wins the race' in this case. I have the newbies in the chinchilla cage in the shed still and will let them roam in the shed tomorrow with caged door. Then I will put them in a small run alongside the older girls and work on from there. Another factor is that the newbies aren't POL just yet so why rush things and cause havoc? I'd never forgive myself if I came down to scenes of nastiness in the morning or any time soon. If I do gradual, then I can introduce them fully when we break up for summer hols, that was my plan initally as I thought I would be around with my sons to supervise. my eldest son is the chicken whisperer so they'll listen to him Thanks very much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen&Lee Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I got 2 new chooks a few weeks ago - and did put them in with the others. I had arrangements in case it didn't go well, but luckly all has been fine. I have a big run though and I think this is what made the difference, the new ones could keep to one end, well away from the others. Having seen the way they have behaved over the last two weeks, and the disatnce they have kept I have to honestly say I would not put them straight into an eglu run, it would have been too small. They did all sleep in the same house at night quite happily,( mind you I was up at 5.10am that first morning just to check. ) but in the first week in particular they kept there respectful distance during the day. Hope this helps, You had me laughing imagining the 'catch' scenario Helen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs chook Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 It was comical I must say, fishing net, chooks weaving in and out of nettles I'm a bag of nerves now tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Hi Lisa, I'm SO glad you've decided to act cautiously, especially if the newbies are smaller than your established hens. To have just thrown them all in together might have been heartbreaking for you and fatal for the newbies. Good for you for taking the trouble to consult with the many experts here in the forum! Some people (certainly not all!) who breed and raise livestock think of us pet owners as sentimental and probably think it's for our own good for us to be thrown in at the deep end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs chook Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 Thanks Abbey Road Girl that made me feel I've done the right thing, and has made me feel braver about the whole introduction process. My newbies are 'freeranging' in the shed for this eve. Prissy and Bertha are freeranging in the garden, blissfully unaware of what lies ahead Now to finalise the names and get some piccies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alih Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 mrs chook I would never call myself an expert but am just at the end of a merging process with 2 chooks I bought at 18 weeks and 2 who are now a year old. The stages I went through, following the advice on here, were: babies in the eglu and run, bruisers in rabbit hutch at night and ranging round them in the day. That was for 5 days. Then a bit of free ranging in the garden for all 4 for gradually longer periods of time and supervised, still sleeping separately. That was for about 4 days. Then I began to let them range together but within a netted-off bit, so more restricted in space, still sleeping separately but not by force, by choice, as I let them put themselves to bed. That was for about a week. The night I found 3 in one space and 1 in another was the night I decided to brave the sleeping together, so I popped them all into the eglu and shut the door to keep it dark. I did that for 2 nights, and have since left the door open. The 4 are now 2 1/2 weeks into the merge and although there is still some chasing and pecking which looks from the outside quite unpleasant, they generally are fine. It is great to see them gradually ranging closer together, and although they are still definitely 2 distinct duos, I reckon in another week or two they will be buddies. So I wanted to share this with you just as an example of what has worked for me. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 'Sup to you, they are your hens, but I'd take the slow and sure approach. It is a bit tedious, but I've done it several times now and have never had an injured hen, touchwood. There have been a few moments of stroppiness, but nothing more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Thanks Abbey Road Girl that made me feel I've done the right thing, and has made me feel braver about the whole introduction process. My newbies are 'freeranging' in the shed for this eve. Prissy and Bertha are freeranging in the garden, blissfully unaware of what lies ahead Now to finalise the names and get some piccies. You're very welcome, Mrs Chook! We love photos! (Your atavar always makes me smile.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandychick Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hi, I’ve just had a go at introducing one new hen to the existing two. I was really worried about what to do and how to judge when it would be safe to leave them all together at night for fear of waking up to a chicken disaster in the morning. Pepper, and Amber particularly were really hostile to Willow when she arrived. I don’t know an awful lot about chickens, but my theory was that they need to be together at some point to sort themselves out. I let them all free range together from day one, but there is no way I would have put Willow in the eglu run with them at that stage – Willow slept in a fenced off bit in the shed for the first three nights. My breeder recommended putting Willow in the Eglu to settle down for the night and then let the others in when it was almost dark. This worked well, but I set my alarm very early to be there when they all woke up. There was a bit of pecking going on, so I let them free range for the day. The situation has got better each day – Its now been 8 days and they all walk about together like they’ve been friends for years! I think I might have been a bit lucky here, but free ranging together seems to give them the opportunity to sort out their pecking order while giving them the chance to get out of the way if they need to. I think supervising them when they are all together is important and trying not to intervene (difficult!) with the chasing and pecking unless it gets vicious. Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 have you clipped the new ones wings? You don't want to be running through the nettle/bushes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 my eldest son is the chicken whisperer so they'll listen to him I like the sound of this chicken whispering - mine never listen to me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
