nickyu Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Hi there, please could someone offer some advise. I have 2 hens that I've had since they was 6 weeks old, they are 2 this spring. I have added 2 new hens on Thursday (both 16-18 weeks old) since I added them one of my old hen is still fighting with the new girls, I understanding they are sorting out the pecking order but as its day 3 I hoped it would settle down but it hasn't, the new girls stay in the eglu and only go out when I remove the old hens, I've only removed the old hens as I was concerned the new girls wasn't eating or drinking. Should I just carry on letting them get on with it or is there something else I can do ? Would anti pecking spray help ? I welcome your help. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 It will take a few weeks before they really settle down. Make sure you remove the old hens every day to give the young ones chance to get to the food and water. If you can't let the old ones out every day, you may need to divide the run (I used to use a load of bamboo canes pushed through the wire to create a barrier) during the day and put food and water in both sides. If there are high perches in your run this will help as it will give the new girls somewhere to hop to out of reach of the old ones. Keep sprinkling scratch food down to encourage them all to eat together. And keep an eye on them to ensure no blood is being drawn. No need for any sprays yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Welcome to the forum . What accommodation do you have? Separating them for a couple of weeks is a good idea if it's practicable. I've just introduced 2 new girls and kept them apart for about 3 weeks and everything went well when I put them all in together . Good luck, it can be hard to watch them fighting . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackian Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Welcome to the forum . What accommodation do you have? Separating them for a couple of weeks is a good idea if it's practicable. I've just introduced 2 new girls and kept them apart for about 3 weeks and everything went well when I put them all in together . Good luck, it can be hard to watch them fighting . I had my new girls at the same time as ANH and it took me 4 weeks of shreeking , pecking , ...What are these doing here ? How dare you come on our patch!.. Now you should see them , the best of pals ... Keeping them seperated but so they can see each other for a week or so and gradually let them mingle for an hour or so . Mine were so bad at first i went and said sorry to a neighbour, One of my old girls Poppy screamed for 3 hours non stop on the first day. What on earth was I so concerned about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 3 days is not a long time at all in chicken terms. They are so sociable but take so long to build the relationships. What is the age difference? I have been introducing two juvenilies to some 1 yo. It has been 7 weeks now, every day is better but I would still say the dynamics are yet to be resolved and won't be until the juvies start to lay. The difference between "us pet" chicken keepers, with a handful of girls, and people who keep a few 10's od girls is that we do over scrutinise. Many breeders will just tell you to throw the new bird in a bed time and leave them to it. Us "pet" keepers are a bit sensitive, in the nicest possible way of course Take your time and be prepared to step in, a water pistol helps, but this time I have been "pecking" under the head chook chicken psychology whick is going ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickyu Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thank you everyone for all your supporting words, I have a eglu mark 2 with the 2 part run for day time use when no ones home (approx 1 hour per day) and additional fenced area approxmenlty 10ft area that they have access to when someone's home during daylight hours, the two older hens (nugget and nacho ) are going to be 2 in spring they are light Sussex cross, the 2 new hens (sage and onion) are between 16-18 weeks old onion is a black Sussex and sage is a rhode red. I have been putting them all to bed together and don't hear any issues, when daylight comes I hear some movement so I let them out into the run and nugget and nacho feed but the new girls remain in the box, nacho will run into the nesting box and pecks the new girls the goes back to feeding, when they have eaten I let the 2 old hens into the extended area and shut the run so the new girls can come and feed, I have made a make do nesting box for the old girls so the new ones have the eglu and the run, as day light drops I put them all back together and some chasing and pecking happens ( although it sounds terrible it's much less than before ). I did try letting the new girls out in the garden but one flew on top of the shed and the other flew ontop of the washing line so I clipped the wings but decided until they was settled it wasn't a good idea to let them roam free. This is a learn as you go experience for me as its the first time I've had hens, I just wanting to not be part of the farmed chicken process so thought I would raise my own . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
