debbietabby Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Hi folks - advice please.... We got 3 chickens all from the same flock a couple of years ago. sadly one died of peritonitis recently so we got another - a bluebelle called Victoria. Victoria has been living for the last two weeks in a large hutch beside the eglu run. She free ranges for an hour or so every day with the other two (grace and gertrude) round our small garden. Grace is top chook and there was a bit of initial aggression but it's all slowly calming down. Grace still pecks at Victoria if she gets too close or there is some food around. Is there anything more I can do to help the integration process? I'm worried about putting Victoria in with the other two as we have an eglu and standard size run so there isn't much space run away and hide. Or could I put her in with gertrude (who is much less aggressive towards her) and put Grace in the hutch for a day? (Seems a bit mean...) I'm happy to take it slowly...just wondered what to do for the best... Debbie PS do bluebelles lay small eggs? Or is that just Victoria. Every day one dainty brown egg - half the size of the others! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 If she is a youngster she will be laying small eggs at the moment, they will get bigger, my Bluebelle lays plum coloured medium sized eggs. It might be worth trying your new girl in with the less agressive older hen overnight and for a day to see how that goes then let them all out together towards the end of the day trying to get them to go to bed together and seeing how that goes in the morning. It may take some time though introducing a lone hen to established ones is always a tricky business. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Why not try them together at night and seperate in day for a bit. Then seperate in the run, divided by canes into two areas. Then in together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbietabby Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Thank you for the help. I have been thinking about putting them together at night - but what happens come daybreak? Will Grace start having a go at the newbie? (do I have to get up at sparrowfart to monitor proceedings?) will definitely split the run so they can be in the same space- and it'll give Victoria more room. Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandkymberley Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Hi Debbie, i got 3 new hens to add to my 7 on the 24th of June and they have only just started to settle, however my newbies dont sleep in the cube? Anyho i think you are doing the right thing letting them free range, if it was me i would be tempted to leave them free ranging together until you feel more comfortable BUT you will have to bite the bullet one day and see how it goes, they may well peck and Victoria might cluck but its something youve got to let them straighten out, however hard it is to watch. The only time to seperate them again is if blood is drawn or its really severe bullying. You never know they may be ok with her in the eglu, but as you know take it slow and be prepared to take a step back and seperate her again if need be. My newbies put themselves to bed in the cube the 1st night and then the next day we seperated them again just to be sure they were okay, i didnt want to count my chickens! (but i hoped they would all live happily ever after!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heth1986 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Hi Debbie, my latest addition was put straight in to nest with the others late at night when they were all dozing well. Make sure that the door and any windows are shut so that it stays nice and dark and then nip out to them as early as you can to let them out again. When I let mine out in the morning the others looked at the new girl a bit confused with a bit of a 'where on earth did you come from?!' expression on their faces, other than that all has been well. Mine were let out free range for as long as possible afterwards just so's they had room to get way from each other if needs be, but otherwise they've had no problems whatsoever. Hope this helps! Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I agree that there is usually a bit of pecking to settle things down - if they are free-ranging without too much trouble, then they may be ok together, just keep an eye in case any blood is drawn. However ... three hens in an Eglu with a standard run is going to be a bit cramped, and you may get problems with pecking and squabbling. I would really recommend investing in the run extension (actually, you'll need the 'converter' as a first piece) to give them more space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 There is some advice in the FAQ section about managing introductions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbietabby Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 Dear all, thanks for all the advice - makes me feel much better. I hadn't thought about putting them all in at night with the egludoor closed. Doh! Mind you it;s a bit warm at the mo - will tackle this when it's a little cooler. I split the run with a barrier of garden canes (took 3 attempts - Grace barged throught the first two. Chickens can be very sumo, can't they? ) Anyway - got Grace into the eglu end of the run via the eggport but gertrude ran round to the other end - so I put Victoria in with her and all was well! Victoria the newbie is still sleeping and laying in her hutch but now spends a bit of time each day in the divided run. Yesterday they were so quiet that I removed the barrier. It went pretty well! A few pecks and Victoria dodging about but nothing serious. Miles better!!! I think I need to keep going forward slowly - relieved to hear from other posts that it takes about a month to integrate - this is week 3 so I mustn't be impatient! Thanks agian debbie PS would love a bigger run - no room! But we are moving to Scotland so hopefully the girls will retire to proper free ranging and more palatial quarters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbietabby Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 Hi, thought I;'d post an update - we (almost) have a flock! Have been persevering with the introductions. I failed to split the eglu run (Grace barged through all attempts to fence) so we ended up building a wire run between the hutch and the end of the eglu run, with Grace and gertrude (the established chooks) in the eglu and Victoria (newbie) in the temporary accomodation. I let the two groups mix - sometimes peacefully, sometimes not. One day I got soo upset about Grace mugging Victoria that I put her in the temporary accomodation and put Victoria in with Gertrude. Peace reigned! A couple of days later, Grace escaped into the eglu run - but all was fine. OK, the odd peck but basically peaceful. The only remaining point of contention is when Victoria wants to lay - Grace mugs her in the eglu. So I shut Grace out until the egg arrives, then all is well. So the moral is.. be patient - we got Victoria five weeks ago. If in doubt, separating the Top Chook seems to shake up the pecking order. Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Very interested in this as aim to get a new chuck hopefully weekend after next. had to wait for OH to finish his new box for the newbie then we went away so time just hasnt been right. A friend just shoves newbies in with her flock and leaves them to it but she doesnt work so easy for her. I do and I dont want to come back to bloodshed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pips_pekins Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Debbie, I was pleased to see from your update that things have settled down. You are currently near me and I can't understand why you would want to leave MK for Orkney; guess the two are pretty similar though . Well done on getting through the intros so well. I would like to expand my flock but, amongst other things, I have concerns about managing the intros as like Alis girls, I feel it will be difficult to monitor whilst I am at work. Good luck with the move. When are you off? Very exciting and you will be able to get more chickens Pip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbietabby Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hi Pip, we got Victoria when I knew I;d be working at home quite a bit - but to be honest, it hasn;t taken too much time. The first times they went out together I hung around to break up any scuffles but free ranged round our small garden quite happily after the first few days - plenty of space for Victoria to run if she saw Grace coming her way! And when they were in the runs, I just made sure they were separated when I was busy. I have to admit that the temporary run is pretty flimsy (chicken wire stapled to the old hutch and attached to eglu run with string and bungies) and it certainly wouldn't win any prizes for good look - but it works. So I haven't spent hours hovering about. The move to Orkney happens when we';ve finished the renovations - house almost done, but stable/chickenhouse still to do and the bank balance is looking v sad..... Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
