Sooo much pooping

[williamspencer98]

On saturday I bought 3 m ore chickens to go in with my existing flock (orpington, welsummer, new hampshire red). So I bought:

 

Connie - Splash Cochin

Lou Lou - Lavender Orpington

Pandora - Black Silkie

 

But Pandora the Silkie isn't settling in well at all. It was minor pecking from the old flock, but Pandora is getting the worst, she ends up having to sit in the corner, so we had to isolate her in our old house.

 

Do we put her back in today and let them get on with it? We're just concerned because she is definatley smaller than the others, but the seller said that she's not bantam (she's about bantam size at the moment), she will grow a bit more I think.

Would it be better if we added a Mille Fleuir (I can't spell that ) to Pandora on her own so she will have someone her size then add them both after a few days/weeks/months? Im not sure?

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks-Will

[sjp]

personaly I don't put new birds in with exiciting birds untill they have been free ranging togeather for at least 4 weeks .and I don't start new birds free ranging for at least 2 weeks after I've brought them. that said I know others do intro differantly. if all the other girls are bigger than the silkie then it might be an opion to get her a friend her own size the keep them togeather untill the are bigger but free range them all togeather so they and you get to know who's going to be the trouble maker

intros can take weeks I've got 4-18 week old growers that have been FR with the rest of the mob since they were 2 weeks old and they still get smacked by a few of the older girls

[Tweety]

I have always followed the forum advice about introductions, taking it slowly and gradually - and it is better to have a period of quarantine in any event before introducing new chickens.

 

How old are your new girls? I would separate Pandora if she is so much smaller than the others and, as you suggest, get another similar-sized girl to keep with her. I would keep them separated, but in view of your others, until they are bigger and then gradually free range them with the big girls until peace breaks out. As sjp says, this can take weeks - in my experience usually about 3 weeks.

 

Good luck!

[dance in the dark]

It is definitely better to keep new hens separate for at least a week or two, where they can see each other but not get to each other, I normally keep new hens in a house and run by themselves and let the existing girls fr around them, that way the existing girls don't feel that their space is being "stolen".

 

Then I normally let them have short bursts of fr together, for an hour or so in the evening, and keep a constant eye, ready to step it.

 

I would put your new girls in their own house and leave them there for a few weeks. If your new girls aren't point of lay, or are significantly younger you should not be keeping them with the other hens anyway as they will have no chance. Also, Silkies are a very small breed, Cochins and Orpingtons are large and Welsummers/NHRs are pretty decent sized too, so I would make sure you let them get used to each other before putting them in together

[Chortle Chook]

Silkies are small beings so even a standard sized chicken will be smaller than normal standards and many described as 'standards' are in fact 'in-betweenies'. Your Orps and Chochins on the other hand are bigger than most standard girls.

 

However all 3 of your new girls are gentle breeds, so they should get along together all right but probably need more gentle introductions to your long standing girls. I'd let them FR first before shutting them in with your old flock.