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[Darren Beaumont]

Hi, I am new to the Forum.

 

I have had a couple of hens for over a month now and was so happy with them (we get eggs every day) that I decided that it was time to add to the family.

I took delivery of an Eglu Cube Thursday , moved the girls in there straight away and introduced two new hens late last night when they were roosting.

Got up very early this morning to let them all out into the run and as you might expect some feathers were flying.

After the initial fight, it seems that my original birds want to peck at the new ones constantly and continue to chase them around the run. The new birds finally had enough and jumped back into the cube.

I have now seperated the two sets with some fencing, the new hens penned in under the cube so my original hens are able to climb back up when it is time to lay.

Am I doing the right thing?

 

Thanks

 

Darren

[Olly]

Welcometo the forum! It's generally a good idea to keep new hens separate for the first week, just in case they have any infectious illness which might be passed on to your other birds.

 

There's some advice on introductions in the FAQs here - a slow introduction is usually best. Some people adopt the 'all in together' approach, and it can work but the process of sorting out the pecking order can be a bit brutal, and if you follow that route you need to keep an eye out because if the pecking draws blood, then it may result in the death of one of the hens. I would separate them during the day, at least, to begin with - at night they can be put in together because they are sleepy and won't attack each other, but it means getting up a bit early to take them out again, at this time of year!

[THF Nick]

We introduced 2 ex-bats to our little flock a couple of months back now.

 

We weren't really well prepared and keeping them separate became quite difficult, especially as the two ex-bats decided that they had had enough of caged life and made a break for it at every opportunity. After a day or two they were free ranging with the others and the pecking order was taking shape. It was pretty tough watching the hen at the bottom of the order getting bullied but after a week or so it settled down and they became pert of the gang.

 

Perhaps having a rooster meant that the order settled down quicker than normal?

[Darren Beaumont]

Thanks for the advice. The new hens being only 17 weeks old were not able to stand up for themselves, so I have put them in the old house and run with the existing hens able to freerange around them. I let them all out in the garden tonight and they all seem to avoid each other which actually was a big improvement. Slowly slowly seems the best advice going forward. Chicken keeping certainly is addictive isn't it!

[squiggin]

I introduced 3 new 17 ish week old hens to my existing two a couple of days ago. I was advised by the chicken man I got them from to put them all in together at night and supervise them heavily to start with. Three days in and it seems to be working - my top hen made sure they all knew it on day 1, today she has left them alone and the other has been having the odd peck but nothing bad. The only issue is getting them in at bedtime as the head hen seems to guard the door to my eglu and will let some in but not others. However after shutting her in to go sleepy for a few minutes the others seemed to be allowed in ok with only the odd peck and scuffle. I'm hoping after a few days they'll be ok - the man I got them off reckoned the worst thing you can do is keep them separate and his approach seems to work for me

[eggs]

I recently introduced three new POLs to my existing two (two year olds) after losing my 3rd hen. I have the girls in a 50m electric poultry fenced area with their ark so they are basically free ranging.

 

I bought a smaller ark and run which I put within the fenced area with the new girls in there. I fed the existing girls some corn alongside the new run with the new girls in. There was some running at the run and trying to peck though the netting. After 10 days I put the new girls into my exisiting ark at night once they had all gone to bed. It seems to have gone pretty well, there is a bit of chasing about and a peck here and there but it was nowhere as traumatic as I thought it might be.

[scarlettohara]

Well done - you have done the right thing in separating them - keep them like that for at least 2 weeks and then start introducing them at night and taking them out in am. I have done 2 lots of intros recently and this has worked for me - my girls are all the best of friends

[beach chick]

I do think space and being able to run away from each other is the key thing, a cockerel is also a help but there are the downsides of boys too!

 

I know it is not quite 'right' but I have never been able to manage a proper quarantine period, basically because mine all live inside a 50m electric fence, and I have no other foxproof way of managing it.

 

I added 6 new girls to my surviving 4 on saturday afternoon, and because of various logistical problems (and me not being prepared to wait really) I just had to let them all get on with it. I knew my current 4 were healthy and was 100% happy with the place I got the new ones from (near Folkestone, Kent if anyone wants a recommendation).

 

it all went perfectly - a little bit of posturing, no pecking, they are all sleeping together at night and starting to meld into a flock already.

 

it was the right thing to do for me, because my 4 survivors were so miserable (lost 4 to a fox last week), but now they seem to be much happier. and the new girls are very happy too.

 

so if you have the space, you know your birds are healthy and the new ones come from somewhere/someone you are confident about, I think its ok.