Eggstatic! Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I have just had a walk in run built and have a new home for my chickens. I will be adding another five to my three over the weekend, i know that i should seperate them etc really but i have heard of so many successful introductions where they have all been put together at night and then see how it goes. What should i do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffie Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Be prepared :is my motto wink: I'd have a set up for an intro over a period of time. You not only make this far more peaceful and save the tears but you also have a period in which you can make sure you don't introduce an illness from the new birds. Stress can lower their immune system too, so I would always do gradual intro's. Hope this helps Buffie x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Slow and steady would be my advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Be prepared :is my motto wink: I'd have a set up for an intro over a period of time. You not only make this far more peaceful and save the tears but you also have a period in which you can make sure you don't introduce an illness from the new birds. Stress can lower their immune system too, so I would always do gradual intro's. Hope this helps Buffie x As Buffie says, it is good to have a quarantine period anyway. I have noticed that many, many people report coughs and sneezes in new chooks (we also had this), so it is worth waiting until they are settled in and healthy before introducing them to the other chooks. Go for the 'see but don't touch' approach so they can see the others but not be pecked by them. There is some great info on introductions in the FAQ section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMitch Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I did mine over a 5 week period (they were only 15 weeks) followig Egluntines guidelines. I never had any problems at all. So I would say slow is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 yes, wot they all said - slow is gooooood! maybe a bit more time-consuming for you, but much better for the chooks, and also cheaper in the long run - so many people end up with battered girls at the vets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollystar Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I introduced 2 new girls to mine before knowing people can have problems, I placed two older girls in with the young ones at night & they where fine, I would have been more cauous had I been on here first & heard the potental issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chooklady Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Our 2 new ones took 3 weeks to fully integrate with the others. They all slept together at night as the man at Thornes recommended that, so I took his advice. and they free ranged together after about 10 days but when they were in the run the 2 new ones were confined to a large dog crate, They are fine now and that was 6 weeks ago we got them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggstatic! Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Thank you for all your replies. Slow and steady it its. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 You are all good. I went for the pop them all in together at night then in the morning the "old" girls freeranged until bedtime and then the following day they were all together. I didn't have any problems. I've done similar every time (except for the exbatts but that's different) and never had problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alih Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 it took me 3 weeks to integrate mine and I would advocate the slowly slowly approach only because it worked for me wonderfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggstatic! Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Well, I got my new girls today (six instead of five), I am sooo glad that i took your advice and seperated them.Although... They are all inside a large walk in run seperated by the omlet netting so that they can see each other. Two of the newbies flew straight over it! One of my original gingernuts then decided to pull one of them around the run by its tail, I think i will be clipping their wings in the morning, to save themselves if nothing else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Well, I got my new girls today (six instead of five), I am sooo glad that i took your advice and seperated them.Although...They are all inside a large walk in run seperated by the omlet netting so that they can see each other. Two of the newbies flew straight over it! One of my original gingernuts then decided to pull one of them around the run by its tail, I think i will be clipping their wings in the morning, to save themselves if nothing else Oh dear, the bast laid plans and all that, . I am sure it will all go abit calmer tomorrow once they are all clipped . Congratulations, on the new girls though, any pictures yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggstatic! Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Will try for pics tomorrow, if they ever stand still! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
