emmat Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Howdy chicken folks - I've not been on for ages so hope everyone is ok. After having 5 ex-batts 2 years ago we are now, as of today, down to 1. We are going to get her 3 new friends on Saturday but I am not sure how to introduce them. As there is just one here and 3 separate breeds coming in, will it be ok to just chuck them in with her, as we don't have an existing 'pack' with just one? Any thoughts? xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eve Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 i put my new girs ine.in at night and let them out the next day and they were fine. had two battams and put two hybrids in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmat Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Ok... so perhaps if they free range together for an afternoon then they should be ok... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolz1965 Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 We had similar problem. We had a single hen (Holly) and wanted to get some more. We thought three was a good number so Saturday afternoon got some more - a bluebell (Maggie), black rock (Korma) and speckledy (Heather). At first Holly was grumpy and started chasing them round the run. Night time was a nightmare as she wouldn't let them into the Eglu so had to hold her down and stroke her to settle her whilst the others plucked up the courage to go to bed. Took abut 30 mins to settling but they did go the sleep quietly. Left the Eglu door open so they could 'escape' if necessary. Next morning locked Holly in tunnel of the eglu and let the others FR in the walk in run then let them mingle later in the day. Lots of pecking going on but the newbies had lots of branches to perch on and hide away from grumpy Holly so she soon got fed up. Tuesday was a bad day as she would not let them out of the Eglu in the morning and let them in the Eglu in the evening but again manage to hold her down til they had all settled. Wednesday she tried to stop them eating from both Grubs - so they spent most of the day hiding in the Eglu so today shut her up in eglu run and let the newbies free range in walk in run so they could have a breather. Just let them all mingle and so far Holly seems to have given in to the fact that they are here to stay. Lots of pecking and chasing and general grumpiness but not has bad as I thought it would be - you just need to make sure that the newbies have somewhere where they can get away from the lone ranger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Potts Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Am going through intros at the moment - lone ex battery and three ex barn hens. I think if you are at home all day for the first few days, then it might be worth doing what you are suggesting because you are there to watch and referee/rescue as necessary. If you aren't home, might be worth taking a little longer just to get it right. The problem for us has come from one of the new ex barn hens, not our existing hen, and we had the first free range without any bullying at all last night (got them 24th March). Not sleeping together as yet and spending most of day apart, as build up Ninja's time in the WIR with the others. If you are getting POLs, who are a bit younger and not so feisty, it might go very well. As Joolz describes, lots of benefit to the process in being able to watch what is going on. Good luck and hope it goes well whatever approach you take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
