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jackian

mixing the new girls...I'm very nervous

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We had our new girls Eva a Miss Pepperpot and Rose a very tiny Ginger ranger on Monday ,they are in seperate WIR from the "old girls"but close together and does not seem to be a lot of pecking etc.,between the netting except a lot of screaming from one of our other 2 girls (this has got less and sad to say seems to be first thing in the morning when they come out of the coup :( )

We hope to let them out for a while together at the weekend. Should this be the old girls first then the new girls or the other way round? ...Rose is very tiny probably only about 16 weeks and very nervy (but very pretty )Eva I think is older ,more like 25 - 30. I know there will probably be a s"Ooops, word censored!" or two but should i let them both out or leave little Rose in for longer until she has found her feet more ?

The two new new ones seem to get on really well together. :D

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She does sound young but...

When I introduced my new girl I put her in the nesting box with the others after dark and let them out into the big run together in the morning.

 

I sat and watched them all day expecting something to kick off but I can honestly say they didn't make a peep! There was a bit of a "ooh, who on earth are you?" moment when they first came out but that was it.

 

I don't know if it was because they'd got used to each others smell overnight in the dark whilst they were calm or if it was because I was introducing 1 on 1 (original chuck, Betty, sister got foxed the day before so newbie, Ram Jam, was an emergency purchase!) or because Betty was a tad traumatised by the fox incident but it certainly worked for those two.

 

Just an idea, I'm sure it wont work for every chuck and my 2 are super calm, but it may help putting her in over night for a few nights when she's a bit bigger?

 

I've also heard that rubbing a bit of garlic on the backs of their necks helps so that they all smell the same helps???

 

I'm sure you'll get lots more advice and input on this suggestion,

 

Good luck!

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Thank you for your replies and great advice. :clap: ,

I am going to take it gently . They can see each other all the time and except for Poppies chanting in the morning everything is fine.

The 2 new girls are in a 4m x 3 metre run so I think they should be fine for a few weeks at least. I am reckoning that the longer they take to get used to each other being around the better.

My first attempt at mixing so want to get it right . :wink:

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I was in a simalar situation when I got 6 ex bats and had to introduce them to my 3 posh ladies . I left it at least 4 weeks before introductions . They could see each other I had the run next to the cube run . When introductions were made all hell broke loose and I used a water sprayer ( gently spray) to part the fighters . I was left with one that just wouldnt fit in to the gang this was several months later . We named her paula and paula became such a state she was already bald anyway but with the posh ones having a go at her as well become a sorry sight . I had to take the decision of separating her again . She lived next door to all the others for 3 months before I waited to dark one night and put her in the nest box .

The following morning I rushed out to see what was happening and they were fine .It was such a relief I had spent months wondering if Id made a big mistake getting more .But patience was the key . They all live in harmony now .

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I recently introduced two new 20 week old hens to my existing two. We only wanted 1 chicken but the breeder said it was better to have two as they would be less likely to get picked on. At the time I had the cube run with a 1 metre extension. I purchased a cube run end panel and split the run in half using this. Had a temporary nesting area in the non cube end so they could see each other every day. We had it like this for about a week then started to let them loose in the garden for the final hour of the day to get used to each other in a neutral territory. After the 2nd week we bit the bullet and put them in the full run (had purchased the WIR by this point) making sure we had 3 seperate feeders and drinkers in there spread around. They were absolutely fine from day one... now all huddled up snuggly together in the cube.. you wouldnt know they were two seperate pairs

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Ashjc Your WIR sounds very like ours seperated in 2 halves (except no cube :( ) We have 2 coups.

We only wanted 1 also but told we needed 2 but they are lovely girls and already i know they will be OK. We were going to do what you suggested and so that is the way to go I reckon.

My biggest problem is Poppy "old girl" the noise she makes for about half an hour when she comes out in the morning..On Monday it was 3 hours so we are improving :roll:

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