Introducing new chooks - tomorrow! Help!

[arfur]

Hi all, I'm doing an emergency re home of 4 ex-bats tomorrow and have 5 ex-bats that we rehomed 2 years ago. Am planning to put the new ones in a separate adjoining run for a couple of hours after we get them home, then after the old birds have gone to bed sneak the new ones in. Does this sound ok? Or should I let the new ones have the hen house first? I'm going to be such a wimp if they fight!! Any advice appreciated x

Bump?

Ideally keep them away from the others for a week or so to make sure they are healthy (not sure what state they will be in as ex-bats though). But if you don't have anywhere else to put them then I would probably do what you have suggested - put them in an adjoining run for the day and pop them in with the others at bed time. No doubt there will be some squawking and scrapping as they sort themselves out, probably more the next morning, but just keep an eye on them that the bullying doesn't get too bad.

Good luck - I am a complete wimp about mine all getting along OK too!

Thanks dark horse! So far so good apart from the shenanigans at bedtime when the new girls (I presume) were looking for somewhere to perch and so escaped the run and ended up with me and ds in a Benny hill type scene chasing them round the garden for 20 minutes, one nearly went over the fence into the next door woods but managed to head her off otherwise she would've been gone for good! Fingers crossed they're ok in the morning, I'm planning an early clean out to keep an eye on things ......

I can picture it now - you can always rely on chickens for entertainment, glad you managed to catch them! How are they getting on today?

Seemed ok bit of wing nipping but nothing too scary then I went out for walk with ds for school project and got a hysterical phone call from dd saying one was on top of the henhouse trying to get into woods and one was roaming the garden and she couldn't get either to cooperate! Told her not to panic put some food down on floor and leave them to it, then 5 mins later she rings back and said they're still in same place but she's found another chicken laying on its side and she thinks it's dead! Poor love was distraught so we got in a taxi and got home quick! It was one of our original girls she had been fine at lunchtime but just looked like she'd laid down and gone to sleep don't think she was attacked or anything as no obvious signs just wonder if it was old age and the stress of the new ones finished her off sadly. They've all trotted off to bed happily tonight so I'm really hoping for a less eventful day tomorrow! Rip Ginny. Thanks for asking btw!