AndyRoo Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Hello all, I am just wondering: what is the quickest time in which any of you have been able to introduce and integrate new hens? I introduced two hens about 2 months back and went through the usual process of a weeks segregation in sight of each other, and then I put them in together and they had some bickering so I separated them again for another few days and then reintroduced them again and they stopped bickering. Then came the fateful night which I am just going to call "The Foxing". On Saturday, Rich (my partner) and I went and got 3 new hens and separated them in sight of the other hens. The old hens didn't seem that fussed by the new hens at all. Not even the slightest bit. The old hens stayed in the run on their perches overnight and the newbies stayed in the cube. The following day, the old hens were out in the main part of the run enjoying themselves and not making any effort to peck at the new hens, and were basically not bothering them. About midday I went out to check and 2 of the oldies were pacing back and forth the separating net, but weren't pecking at the newbies. Perhaps recklessly I thought "Why, not? I'll try them all in together." I removed the separating netting and immediately the two older pacing hens zapped past the new hens, completely ignoring them, and bolted in to the cube so they could lay their eggs. The new hens moved out in to the outdoor space with the old hens and low and behold they all seemed to get on straight away! They're all giving the odd 'learn your place' peck, but nothing like the level of aggression they showed before. What's going on? I've been monitoring them for the last few days and they're all already following each other round the paddock, and they're sharing the food and water, and the new girls are already eating from our hands... and they all put themselves to bed and share the cube without any scuffling and no one is being kicked out! Have I become some sort of chicken magician, or have I lucked out with the most harmonious hens in the world!? I'm still keeping an eye on them to make sure there's no proper fighting, but so far there is almost perfect harmony in Chook Town. Has anyone else ever experienced something like that? I feel like I'm waiting for a karmic slap in the face as everything suddenly falls apart... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 It's all down to the individual chickens but sounds like you've been lucky We've always had cockerels or a drake who usually break up arguments so we've been lucky and had a similar experience to you. Make sure they have a few feed stations and keep your fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 3 minutes ago, Lewis said: We've always had cockerels or a drake who usually break up arguments so we've been lucky and had a similar experience to you. Make sure they have a few feed stations and keep your fingers crossed! Oh, I couldn't be dealing with a rooster; I think our neighbours would show up with torches and pitchforks if we had one too! lol They've plenty of food and water, but they don't even seem to need any partial distraction - they're just getting on with it! I'm gob-smacked because it goes against virtually every experience I've ever heard of. It's good to hear that it can just sometimes happen, though. Unless maybe I've somehow ended up with a rooster and not even realised it! God, I hope that's not true... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 So far I’ve only done the chuck-em-all-together-method. But have to say I let the boarding place do it. Different coop for all and no one really knows what to do, so they just go about their own business and completely ignore the rest. Last time the boarding place forgot to put the new hens in with mine, so I did it at home. Still hardly any fuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, as Lewis has said, it depends on the hens. Having them in a different location helps as Cat Tails has illustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamrhind Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 I always use the chuck-em-all-in-together method, and it's always worked very quickly - just a few pecks from the established hen(s) to the new ones, then it's all sweetness and light. I've never thought of myself as a chicken magician In my opinion it does depend on your setup. My small number of hens have a very large space to roam in, with multiple food and water points, so there's no competition for space or food that there might be for other keepers which would increase the aggressive tendencies of the hens. What I do notice is that they never end up roosting together. The established hen has the Eglu, one roosts high in an apple tree and the third in a shrub. But they all lay in the Eglu so I don't know why the sleeping arrangements are so bizarre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 Oh, that's interesting. I hadn't realised so many people had done the throw them all in together method. Maybe once my girls have all departed I'll have to try it again. Everybody I'd heard from all had a complete nightmare, so I wondered if I'd gotten particularly lucky! Hopefully that means I'm not suddenly going to go out there and find it like Lord of the Flies at some point then. *wipes brow* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
