Eglu Go & guinea pig zippi run

[Henhathnofury]

I feel very cross with myself for getting so stressed about this but it is giving me sleepless nights. Last October we bought an Eglu, a Gingernut Ranger and A Miss Pepperpot. Of course the whole family fell in love with chickenkeeping, got obsessed, etc etc.

 

So a few weeks ago we decided to get a new one - a point of lay Amber Star. She is amazingly tame compared to the other two - very sweet, loving and wanting to be their friend. However, there have been feathers flying, furious noises - enough for me to wade in and separate them. I rigged up a separate coop and try and rotate her out, them in etc - so that she gets to free-range etc. We have a run under the trees and I sectioned that off too. But whenever they are together, it all goes belly up, particularly with Helena, the Miss Pepperpot. At night, the yawning youngster goes to bed at 7 - so I let her roost, then when it is dark, let in the others (they like a late bedtime and will not settle) - locking them in and separating them at 6.30 when the fuss begins.

 

I am getting so tired and so worried that this will not settle down - just would like to know on average how long this process takes. Of course I have a difficult ratio: 1:2 - she is also white, which coloured chickens take exception to in a strange form of chicken racism.

 

My daughter would be heartbroken if we had to give this beautiful little girl away but the others seem so put out of joint. Will it improve when she lays?

 

Oh dear, when you care it's so hard!

 

It has been six days

[stoice]

It will settle down after about 3wks but you need to interveen if blood is drawn. You say your new girl is POL which according to some breeders can be as young as 16wks which is a little too young to add to two older birds. Plus adding one girl to two is quite tough on the new girl. Any chance of adding another so it's two and two? Keep them separated and I think you should read this in FAQ... http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25886 and take things nice and slowly.

 

Good luck

[Egluntyne]

It is never a good idea to introduce just one hen to a pair or established flock.

 

They are bound to assert themselves, particularly if the new girl is younger.

 

Have a look at **this article** about managing intros and perhaps consider either getting another, to dilute the unwanted attention, or splitting the two bossy ones up and letting her get acquainted with them individually.

 

Put out extra food and drink stations so that she doesn't go hungry.

[Tweety]

It is early days yet so don't get too despondent. You should read Egluntine's advice about introductions in FAQ - it really does work. I would keep your new girl completely separate but within view of your established hens for at least a week, and then take things very slowly. I recently introduced one hen to my established flock of 17 following Egluntine's advice, and I can honestly say that I only had one skirmish to deal with - and that was the new girl going for my existing girls! They are all the best of friends now. Good luck.

[pasq]

Like you i introduced a ex battery hen last week -have exactly the same problem. Introducing 1 hen to 2 established ones isn't easy -but we'll get there....I agree-it's not a nice thing to watch.

 

I have now separated my ex battery hen -in daytime she's in eglu, whilst the others free range. They sleep together ok, but i then separate them again in morning. Not a nice thing to watch, but it will slowly settle down. Mine are getting a bit better -they can be within couple metres away outside without any squabbles!

 

I would try the slow approach. Recently used a pump spray bottle to sort any squabbles out -it works!! Anyone else tried that??!

[BeckyBoo]

Don't stress my luvvy, hens are horrid but it WILL settle. 2:1 is a bit hard so you may have to wait a little longer. When they're in the nest at night give them all a sprinkle of mite powder or something so they all smell the same. Like everyone else has said, let them see each other but be seperate for a while, I've always found face to face introductions are better when they're all out and about and busy free ranging then they only bump into each other occasionally. You MUST let them battle it out to a certain extent otherwise you'll only prolong the agony, but if any blood is drawn remove the pecked hen and spray her with purple spray to stop the others really going for her. If one of yours is less aggressive than the other you can try introducing her first so it's less of an unfair battle and will then make it easier to reintroduce the other hen. Feed them treats all together so they can see that the new hen isn't a threat to their food chain. Can't think of anything else really but do give it more time, it should work in the end. Took ages for our ex-batts to settle but they did in the end.

 

Good luck to you and try not to get too stressed - it's supposed to be fun!!

 

Mrs B

[Guest]

we had to try and introduce 1 hen to 4 and the 1 new girl was disabled. It took ages for them to get used to her and we still have to keep her in a seperate part of the run but they free range together now perfectly.

 

They sleep together at night.

 

The only reason we keep her sperate in the run is because she can't defend herself should there be any bullying but we have let them mix together in the run and it wasn't horrendous, just a bit of pecking but I wouldn't like to leave them like that unsupervised.

 

At first they were very aggresive towards her and like yours, she just wanted to be friends with them.

 

There's some good advice in this thread already, just wanted to offer support and let you know it's not a hopeless cause.

 

xxx

[Sandychick]

I introduced an Amber Star to my Pepperpot and Gingernut. It was much easier for me though as the original 2 had only been here for 5 days. There was alot of fuss though and a lot of worrying from me too. I fenced off the corner of my shed for Willow to sleep in at night for the first 3 nights.

 

Have they all been free ranging together?? I found this a great way to let them sort themselves out. Loads of pecking and squarking but no damage done as they have space to get away from each other. To an extent, I just let them get on with it, but with supervision to start with.

 

I'm sure they will be fine in the end, but she might be a bit young to really stand up for herself at the moment. My Amber Star was a lot smaller than the others when she arrived but soon grew as big as the others. It is horrible to watch one getting such a hard time from the others so I do sympathise.

 

I'd say stick with it, it might take a few weeks but it will be worth it Let us know how it goes.

[Henhathnofury]

You are really such lovely people and with your guidance, I feel so much better. The breeder did tell me that she was 19 weeks old but I suspect she is younger. I will be patient and introduce slowly.

 

I am off now to rub something on them all so that they can bond. Someone else told me garlic and it does seem odd, but logical.

 

Lovely to see a hen called Hermione. My middle name and my mother's name.

 

I will keep you informed.

 

Thank you all again...I don't feel so ridiculous among hen people. Others laugh at me and say that I am becoming obsessed!

 

But really, seeing that little hen set off very bad memories about me being bullied by a vile older sister and then at school. (Although I do not compare myself to a beautiful dove-white bird!) So our girls are psychiatrists too. Is there no end to their roles!