Warm boot recommendations please

[newlaidegg]

I can't seem to find any threads giving tips on introductions. We introduced Blodwen and Gladys, during cover of darkness, through the egg hatch last night and let them out with our two established hens this morning. Queenie, although the largest, has up until now has been the quietest, most docile hen you could ever imagine... Well not anymore apparently, she has turned into a T-Rex, RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

 

She has taken over the coup with quite some ferocity and has penned the other two into the eglu and is buck-bucking like a fiend! What can I do? I have been told to leave them in the run for at least 7 days, but I don't think Blodwen can take the strain. She is trying to tunnel her way out as we speak.

 

HELP!

 

p.s. I do not have the time nor the skills to build the introduction pen which I have seen on here!

[Snowy]

Can you let the older ones out to free range for a while? Or find another secure area for them to run in? This gives the newbies a bit of peace, time to explore their new home and peace to eat and drink. Let the old ones in at tea time. Next day let them out again but a bit later and let them back in a bit earlier. Just a suggestion but it worked with mine. By the 4th day things were relatively peaceful again! (If one wanted to lay I let them back in again and if everything was OK left them in). If you can't let them out, can you seperate the run by dividing it with garden canes poked through the mesh? Hope this helps

[newlaidegg]

Thanks for that. My instincts are telling me that that is the right thing to do but I was told that keeping them together would help. I've just had a look and my two newbies are still in hiding and Queenie is still buck-buck-bucking!

[newlaidegg]

Snowy, you also said you let them back in if they wanted to lay... How do you know?

[craftyhunnypie]

I had to give up with introductions & have separated them again, as my old Omlet chooks were being pinned down, forced to stay in the cube & their hearts were really taking the strain. I had to have Blanche inside yeesterday morning - she is back to full health. We also had Rita inside & she is not good. She perked up last night, her tail came up & she went wandering round the kitchen - but she is drinking loads. We kept her in overnight. This morning her tail is back down & she is still drinking a lot, but not eating much. Maybe she is missing her mates now? Poor love.

So it's no more chooks for me at the mo, until I can maybe get another eglu.

 

Emma.x

[Snowy]

I knew mine wanted to lay when they started pacing up and down outside the run instead of camped out in the flower bed! They were too busy heading for the nest box to fight!

 

I know what you mean by chucking them all in together and letting them get on with it, OK if your nerves can stand it! Mine was a bit of a halfway - only letting one 'oldie' at a time back in with the newbies and leaving the bossiest girl until last. I did it quite quickly, over about 3 or 4 days so they weren't perfect when they were all in together, but at least Big Bertha's murderous rage had subsided and the new girls knew to keep out of her way. They are all one big happy flock now

[MaggieMcHen]

I used an enormous dog crate as an isolation pen for my introducee (ask around) . She went into it when I got them up in the morning. I lifted her out of the cube before letting them all out. She had her own food and water and I let her free range whilst the others were in cube and run laying. When I let the others out in the afternoon I put her in the cube run so that she got to know what that was like. After about three days of that I let them free range together. but kept them apart at other times - only putting them in the cube at night together. After a week all was RELATIVELY calm and they were together at all time. She is still the dominant hen but the fighting has stopped.

 

Hope this helps

 

Maggie

[Guest]

I'm a 'chuck-'em-in-and-leave-'em-to-it' kind of girl, and have never experienced any problems with pecking that weren't sorted within 48 hours. The pecking is a natural part of chicken life, and it is down to the 'peckee' to either submit sufficiently to the 'pecker' or fight back sufficiently to beat them. It can be quite distressing, but it does sort itself out quickly. The problem with slow introductions is that the 'peckee' is then subjected to a longer, more spread out introduction, which i am assured cause more stress in the long run, and if you have limited space, then it can cause problems if your original chickens are already in lay, and need access to the nest box.

[Westie]

My new additions took several days to settle down. On the first night I made the mistake of letting the new girls in to bed first so peppers stayed out all night. The next night she wouldn't let the new ones back in and and positioned herslf in a strategic place between the door and the nest box. Ended up having to reposition her in the eglu before I could get the others in, all in the dark of course, not easy. The whole episode took over two hours with sheets having to be held up over the security lighting etc. The pecking was horrid but in the end I had to recognising that in trying to protect the newcomers I was perpetuating the situation and interferring with the natural process.

 

A key thing I think is to put extra food and water bowls scattered about. The youngest is still not allowed to share breakfast with the oldest at the grub bowls, and times her run in to the open for when Peppers has her head inside the grub bowl, but with the later cold mornings I have kept them in their run with a pasta bowl of porridge and all have shared it amicably. It's either the openness style of the bowl that helps or the porridge is so tasty that it diverts attention.

 

Good luck

[chelsea]

Our introductions were quite successful.

 

We had to keep ours in seperate sleeping quarters, as Ella (big ole chook) couldnt stand them and would attack. So we kept them in a run next to the original girls so they could see and smell each other - but not attack each other.

 

We let them out seperately to free range, and then would swap them over.

 

We then let them free range together (with supervision), this was a good idea as when the new girls were being attacked they had plenty of room to run away (whereas in a run they wouldnt). We did this for a few days and then let them freerange alltogether without supervision. All in all it took about 7-10 days.

[newlaidegg]

Snowy, I now know what you mean. Ginger was pacing up and down outside the eglu and when I let her in she laid me a little egg AND I finally know which chicken laid the egg!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Snowy]