LauraJ Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 Hi, I have just got some new hens to join the two that I already had and I was wondering if I should leave them all in their run for a few days, or if the older chickens will show the new ones around? I would hate for the newbies to get confused and try and escape. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forestchook Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 Hi, I think you should keep the new ones in the run for a few days until they know where home is. The others are more likely to chase the new girls than show them around. How are you handling the intro? N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraJ Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 Hi, Thanks for the advice. To be honest I have just popped the newbies straight in - we did have three hens, one of them was always very very dominant, and then one died (Eggburta) which left the very dominant one (Agatha) and poor picked on Betty. I thought I would pop everyone in together and watch them for the day to see how they are getting on and it seems that nothing has changed apart from Betty having someone to chat to. Agatha is still stomping around being bossy and Betty is giving the newbies a good groom which is quite sweet! I do have a seperate run I can put everyone in if it all kicks off, but it seems ok at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forestchook Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 I haven't experienced intros myself, but from other peoples posts on here it sounds like you're getting off quite lightly. Hope it stays that way. N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraJ Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 All the girls were snuggled up when I went to put them to bed last night, but this morning bossy hen was chasing everyone around and being a pest so I let her out and put some food on the ground around the run for her. The other chickens settled and started tucking into breakfast. Do you think I have done the right thing or should I just have left them to it? The new girls have turned out to be very cuddly which is nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Some advice on intros **here**. It is always a good idea to give any new hens a week or two's quarantine to make sure that they are healthy and don't pass anything on to your existing hens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraJ Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 I got both sets of hens from the same farm, and only about 10 days apart so the chances are that they were all in the same pen a couple of weeks ago anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
