4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Chickendoodle]

We are getting our girls a new cube - coming on 14th July with the aim of getting them some more friends. We did plan to get the new girls straight away and put them in the cube with the old girls in the Eglu looking at them enviously and then gradually integrate them.

 

However our plans have now gone astray as the local breeder will not have any chickens ready until a couple of weeks after we get the cube. I suppose it is going to make sense now to let our old girls get used to the cube before the newbies arrive. How have other people managed this? Is is best to let them have access to both the Eglu and the Cube or just to go cold turkey (or should that be cold chicken!) and shove them in the cube and let them get on with it??

 

Chickens, bless their little cotton socks, are not exactly endowed with the best brains (we turned the eglu round and they couldn't work out how to get into it!) so I dont want to confuse them any more than I have to.

[tom123]

If I was you I would keep the old hens in the until you can get the new hens. Put all the hens, new & old, into the and let them sort it out themselves, just make sure there are plenty of food and water stations.

 

This way they are meeting on unfamiliar territeory and they will create a new pecking order.

 

Good Luck

Tom

[Falkor]

I am afraid that I disagree with Tom....sorry tom I have seen the put 'em all in together method go very wrong and everyone got very stressed.

 

I was in a similar situation when my got delivered.....my new hens were not due to arrive for three weeks and I was itching to put the cube to use.

 

So......after my girls had gone off to bed in their I moved them into the . This way they woke up in the . they continued to go off to bed in the and I had to move them for three nights but on the fourth evening the was empty and they had put themselves to bed in the

 

This left the empty for the newbies. When they arrived they were kept in the and run for a week with the existing girls free-ranging about. On the 7th day we had supervised free range mingling with both parties being put back in their own accomadation. This continued for another two weeks. Then i started puting the newbies into the after they had gone to bed in their . I got up at 6am to pull them out and put them back into the eglu. By this stage they were free ranging to problems and on the fifth night they had all gone to bed in the

 

I had four chooks and five feeding stations and four water stations

 

At no point did the existing girls try and get back into the

 

I am doing introductions again using the same methods and all things seem calm

[tom123]

Don't worry palmer07! It was just a thought, I have never done this myself I have only used the slow and steady method. I just thought it might work as the only reason there is fighting is to establish a pecking order and decide who's territory it is.

 

Tom

[Chickendoodle]

Fantastic advice - many thanks (think I will go with the slow but sure method rather than all out warfare!)

[alih]

To make the oldies a bit less territorial you could put them in the cube now but let the new girls have the cube to themselves when you get them and stick the oldies back in the eglu for a week or so. This disorientates them ( in a good way) and evens things out a bit. Has worked for me at least.

 

[TAJ]

My old girls moved to the Cube when it arrived, the new girls then went into the eglu for 2½ months, until they were fully grown and for the last month were free ranging together. Then I swapped them over, so the new girls got use to the cube before I added the old girls back in with them - then took the bully out for a week, fitted a bumper bit and now they are all fine together.

 

Tracy

[Chickendoodle]

Very much looking forward to the looks on the girls faces on the morning after the night they are hoiked out of the into the and come out of their beds facing thin air and a ladder

[chocchick]

Very much looking forward to the looks on the girls faces on the morning after the night they are hoiked out of the into the and come out of their beds facing thin air and a ladder

Something like

[TAJ]

Very much looking forward to the looks on the girls faces on the morning after the night they are hoiked out of the into the and come out of their beds facing thin air and a ladder

 

Mine just woke up the neighbourhood borking from the top of the ladder - a handful of corn in the run and they soon worked out how to get down!

 

Tracy