sarah9961 Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Hi everyone i have 3 Cotswold legbars that are 5 years old and I really like them I still get about 10 eggs a week off them. I want to introduce 3 or 4 POL birds I have 2 pens and runs but want them to all live in my omlet cube. Any tips on how to do this with least blood/upset. My legbars are currently on holiday at my parents house so I have 2 vacant runs at the moment. Any tips greatfully received Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 My mum has one run and one house. She generally adds new hens when she only has one left so it’s not quite the same situation, but she just shuts the new girls in the house with the existing occupant and never seems to have too much trouble. They do have a very big free range area though. To be honest, in your set up, if the runs / pens are next to each other, I would try to beg borrow or steal a second house so they can get used to each other in separate runs before you put them all in together. Having said that, if you have he time to spend separating them every morning for a while, you could just have them all sleeping in the one Cube but then put them in separate runs for the day time for a little while if that seems necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursula123 Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 On my MIL advice ( farmers wife ) I put new girls straight in with the old ones, they soon sort themselves out and squabble for a morning, but once the pecking order is sorted all calms down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah9961 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 Thanks both I have 2 pens but my aim is for all chickens to cohabit in one and one run. Maybe i’ll Get the legbars back first and get them settled and laying in new pen before I get the new birds. I’ve seen some bad fights in the past and I just want to try and avoid any blood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 If the Legbars are away at the moment I would bring them back at the same time as you get the new POL. That way they all enter the pecking order on an equal footing and will sort themselves out quicker, rather than having to add POL to an existing dominant flock. (As always, quarantine new stock for 2 weeks) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...