How do I introduce new girls?

[passthechocs]

We have 3 hens which are coming up 4 and are pretty rubbish in the egg department now. Our hen house can fit 8 and we would like to get 3 more, to make sure there is enough room and so we don't need to increase the run too much.

Any recommendations on how to do this? They are fully free range now for the rest of the winter but there is a built in run to the hen house.

Am looking to get good egg layers - but I also like black hens and blue eggs. Not sure if these things go together (particularly in non-broody types)

You need to do it at night, once the others have gone into roost bung the others in the hen house. The old ones will be too sleepy to do much. Expect squabbles in the morning though. But as you're putting 3 new ones into 4 then there is less likely to be serious trouble.

If there is you need to take the ring leader of the old ones out, there will always be one thats a bit more nasty than the others. Remove her for a few hours at a time, even if just put in a cat box with water/food. When you then put her back she will be a bit less cocky.

I have a blue egg hen, a cream legbar. She's grey though.

My Black rock is beautiful and a great egg layer, she ;laid all through last winter, non stop. If you can section off part of the run to allow the new and old hens to see each other for a few days, but not actually get to each other then that can help. After that I agree introduce them at night. They will fight a bit, but they should sort themselves out, that it why it is called a pecking order afterall

To make the new chickens smell the same as the old, put louse powder on the bottoms of all the chickens, when you put the new ones in they will smell the same and hopefully not squabble too much. Tip given to me by my Grandmother