Solitary chicken - need advice

[katieD]

hi

 

thinking of adding to my flock with 3 polands that are for sale nearby- ive got a large WIR and would need to construct something within it for intros?

 

what have you guys done? dont want to go spending alot etc for the sake of a few weeks?

 

last time i still had my so was much easier

 

thanks all

 

Katie x

[Patricia W]

Be very careful mixing Polands with other breeds. They don't see well and can be bullied. They also need to be kept dry and warm as they have thinner skulls than other breeds apparently.

 

I started with Polands and I've stayed only with them because of the advice I got on here about the difficulties of mixing. If they are white crested black they may be better because they seem to be bigger than the chamois or other types.

 

Mind you, I am the worst at integration - I've been trying to integrate 2 white crested black hens with a trio of them since July - we're still not there!

 

 

I think some have integrated them with other breeds but it has to be very slowly. So you'll need to be able to separate them completely where they can see each other and be very patient

 

 

Tricia

[sallyj]

Can you use the run that you had with your cube and put in inside the WIR?

[Space Chick]

I made an upstairs downstairs using a rabbit run with acrylic sheets on the top, now that my newbies are integrated, I leave the "downstairs" permanently open so they can use either, thus increasing my run space too.

 

Here are some pictures so you get the idea

 

 

 

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I used my eglu run.

 

I also used fairly heavy duty plastic garden mesh. Since this photo, I added another section to this to make it double height. If you cable tied it together and could fix it to the ground somehow, it might work (as long as they couldn't jump over it).

 

[Redwing]

I have used a small rabbit hutch attached to a very big dog cage with bungee cords as a temporary home

 

Small door on hutch to door on cage, big wire door on front of hutch closed and covered to provide a dark warm area

[Lewis]

I used a rabbit run which worked really well.

We have 2 so one was butted up next to the eglu run, and the other was in the side passage so that we could bring them inside overnight

[chelsea]

I have used a plastic dog carrier as a temporary home for newbies (with roosting perches inside) and covered with a plastic backed picnic blanket. I placed this inside my eglu run.

 

They were fine for about a week in this.

[Cooks]

I have a WIR too and my husband put a segregration fencing right down the middle like this

 

 

it worked really well, initially it was only a sheet of chain link fencing but hubby added the door when I complained it wasn't easy for me to get in and out of easily enough

I know you said you didn't want to spend too much etc but this really wasn't hard to do and could even me done with netting really.

[Falkor]

I have used a cube run as an intro pen...I had a spare door panel so was able to make it a stand alone affair. But if you have your cube run you could butt it up to the wall of the WIR

 

 

When I got my first bantams they lived in the door end of the eglu run within the WIR:

 

and currently I have two tiny little japenese bantams in a large indoor rabbit cage which is on the new mezzanine level of the WIR - an old door on two tressels

 

There are lots of option.....it just depend what chooks your are getting and what you have laying about!

 

Also I have seen rabbit runs like Space Chicks for about £35.00 on ebay

 

Cookies segregated run was IDEAL!!! and looked so

 

I would not recommend netting to divide the WIR as if I recall correctly someone had a newbie badly attacked when she worked out she could hop over the fence to the old girls.

 

Also Tony from A4U does an intro pen.....I think it is about £65(but could be wrong!)

http://www.aviaries4u.co.uk/chicken_run_customisations.htm

[Cooks]

sorry I should clarify that when I said you could use nettng I was thinking like a 6 foot wall of netting, no hopping over ability

[Redwing]

Thats right, I have done that, two strips of Omlet netting one above the other and attached together and to the run with cable ties

[coco]

I bought a small house and run for £50.00 from Quids In. Its perfect for the ex batts. OH did make me promise no more chicken houses although I did word the no more very carefully. He didn't actually say no more chickens. I'm thinking as I've got 2 Silkie crosses which are highly likely to go broody and can get eggs of Ebay it would make a brilliant broody coop.

[Janty]

I use the run from the cube that's set up permanently inside the WIR. However, Tony does do an introduction pen. Here is a photo of it set up with my quail inside.

 

 

[bellekatz]

Ok, so I could use my cube run for introductions - what does everyone use for a house for them to roost in? Would a cat box be ok or should I use the small dog cage? Or would a rabbit run that could give them extra space on top be better? I want a new orp now that Bertie has gone but dont want to do intros with 1 - 6 so thought 2 would probably be better??? So either 2 orps or 1 orp and a RIR or another welsummer

[alij]

Hi Katie

 

I used my old eglu with a cube run for some intros just before Xmas

 

 

it worked really well but was really hard doing the cleaning out

 

Tony's just put a partition across the bend in the run

 

 

it has a door into the bigger part of the run. I'll take some pics tomorrow. I have also used a dog cage or rabbit hutch depending on size and age of chooks