Omlet cube and run

[Scoobs]

I have a walk in run and Eglu for 4 hens. Over time I've lost 2 so recently replaced them. They two newbies have been separated for just over a week and then gradually introduced. They all go into the Eglu at night but the two newbies spend most of their time on the perches. I've put food and water up there for them, when they come down one of my older hens pecks them and they go back up. This has been going on for about a week. Do I just leave them and eventually they will come down or do I need to intervene? The newbies are POL so I wondered whether the dynamics will change anyway when they start to lay? Any help appreciated.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'd say a week is a pretty short time so unless you see any sign of injury, I'd probably just leave them to it. You may be right that when they start laying, things will change.

 

I've got one girl who's behaving just like that - won't come down to the ground or she gets picked on . This has come out of the blue after a year of harmony so I'm hoping I won't have to wait too long for it to settle either .

[Olly]

This is normal - as long as they aren't being badly pecked, and can get to food and water, just leave them to it.

 

They need to sort out the pecking order, and by keeping out of the way the new hens are showing they know their place in the order - someone has to be bottom of the line. The dynamic may change when they start laying, and they will eventually get more confident and come down on to the run floor but it may take two or three weeks for this to happen. I've just introduced two new hens to my existing four, they are separated in a dog crate within the walk-in run and I'm planning to leave it at least two weeks before I try integrating them, possibly longer - even so I still expect a similar situation at first to the one you are describing.

[LottyJ1]

When i introduced two newbies last year they spent several weeks on top of the hen house in the run and out of the way of my older ex-batt who can't jump due to an old injury. I made sure that had food and water up there and left them to it. I found that they slowly started pushing the boundaries and the older bird slowly started to let them spend longer on the ground. It took a few weeks but all was fine and they are buddies now.

[sjp]

I find it takes at least a month for new birds to settle in and with mine they've grown up with the mob as I hatch my new birds as long as no blood is drawn just hold your nerve as it looks much worst than it is most of the time

[smartrus]

Hi there, I added 5 newbies to my existing 5 hens. It took about 6 weeks before the were happy with each other. I gave the newbies time together with the older hens and time apart where the could relax. I'm not sure if our set up allows this but it worked well for us. They will be ok eventually but it takes longer than you think. The more space they can have to FR and get away from each other, the better. I didn't think mine would ever get on but a few months down the line, they are a tight knit group, with no problems. Good Luck.