OK - talk to me about introducing new chooks - it's not going well!

[stealthsquiggle]

What have we done wrong? We got 3 new PoL chickens yesterday, and introduced them into pen with our 2 existing chickens. Everyone we had asked said they would be OK after 1st night together - but they're not. This morning the 3 new ones were cowering in the nest box and the 2 old ones wouldn't let them out. In the end I let the 2 old ones out of the run so the new ones could at least get as far as feed and water - but that's not sustainable as the old ones can't get back to the house. Urgent advice / valium (for them or for me) needed...please.

We introduced two newbies a week ago. The first few days are always difficult. We checked morning and night for about 4 days to ensure that the new ones were getting in ok at night and getting out ok in the morning... the two existing hens were giving the new ones a bit of a hard time, but now they are largely ignoring each other.

From memory last time, it took a few weeks for them to fully "gel" as a group.

Can you temporarily put down two lots of food and water, as the old hens can't guard it all,all of the time, if that is what they are doing?

It should sort itself out - but I completely understand your concerns, we've been there!

This morning they were not letting the new ones out of the house at all - every time one of them showed signs of moving, one of the old hens charged up the ramp into the house to chase them back into the nest box

Right now the old hens are out in the garden (where they normally are, except that run door is normally open) and the new ones are quite happy in the run - which is fine except that the old ones can't get back in to lay or to get to pellets (plenty of other sources of water, and TBH they generally forage during the day, so not overly worried about that for a few hours) - I then have to decide whether to catch the old ones and put them back in the run (at which point the new ones will probably get chased back into the food-and-water-less house) or risk letting the new ones out.

Gah. Why can't they all play nicely?

Hmm. Tricky. Ours didn't bully quite in that way, though quite a lot of pecking went on to start with.

Unfortunately it will take a few days for them to settle..

One of our older girls is sooooooo bossy. Even if we come down to their area, I open the gate and she charge over and pecks my boots just as a kind of "you're on my patch now, honey" warning.... But she is now simply ignoring the new two hens. I go down there and there are the two old ones just doing whatever and the two new ones, together (always!) tucked away under the hedge or something...

Good luck.

Well I ended up opening the door of the run. I shall go back and check shortly, but with suitably large amounts of corn to distract them, the old hens showed no immediate inclincation to rush in and beat up the new ones, and the new ones didn't seem especially interested in coming out - more inclined to bolt back into the house, if anything.

Fingers crossed none of them disappear - I really don't want to have to hunt for them at bedtime.

I always run two mini flocks whenintroducing and have the newbies in temporary housing for a week, with oldies staring at them through the mesh. I run them out together newer two and start to merge at night on week three. Plenty of extra feed and water stations. They're normally ready to be in together by week four, but any signs of bullying on those who aren't in lay yet andi pull back.

newer two week two

sounds ideal, brambleschooks - but we have only 2 old ones, 3 new ones, and no second house/run . Fingers crossed they seem to have settled down a bit now although one of the old ones is still stomping round the garden yelling her head off

They'll work it out. I did it the separation way even when I introduced two new to two old, it was minimal damage, but I was lucky to have the accommodation. Some people do it using cat boxes and separating the run off, then making sure the cat box is brought in at night. If you look on the Omlet website forum you'll find More ideas. Good luck. Happy egg cooking!

chicken update: new chickens pottered around close to run, old ones sulked at the far end of garden for the afternoon. Come bedtime, old chickens stomped into the house and slammed the door behind them (they would if they could) and new ones hovered just outside the run. DH and I gently "hooshed" new ones into the run, and then up ramp and into the house - they were not too reluctant, and although there was some indignant 'pok'ing going on, war didn't seem to be breaking out.

Seems like it should be OK in time - new chickens have learned where "home" is and aren't disappearing over the horizon, and the garden is big enough for them to be able to keep out of each others' way.

Hurrah!