[Trackfrower]

Hi, am new to the forum and would like to pick your experienced brains please.....

I have two hens, one red (cant remember her breed) and one blue haze, I have had them for a year now and got them at 17 and 19 weeks respectively.

I have had such a nice time with them that I would like to get two more, probably red ones.  The house I have for them is a 'four berth' and I find that Edie and Lill  always share one side (I took out the dividing 'wall in the nesting boxes) and always the same side, so I was wondering if it would be possible to introduce two younger red ones to them without causing too much stress for them or me? 

They have a small run attached to the hen house (6'x 3') but spend most of their time out in the garden which I dont have a problem with but as I dont really have a way of separating them, is it going to cause a lot of problems to put them in together straight away?

Many thanks for your views

[bantam novice]

Hello Trackfrower,

If you are going to get some new hens it is best to keep them separate from your current girls for two weeks before introducing them.  This is for quarentine to make sure they don't pass any diseases onto your current hens. 

If you can it is best to give them coop and run quarters within view of your current girls and gradually move their food close to each other so that they can get used to seeing each other.

When the quarentine time is up you can your new hens in the coop with your current hens after dark.  Place them on the perches alongside your current hens and hopefully they will be too sleepy to make much of a fuss.

There will probably be some grumbling and establishing of pecking order in the morning when you let them out so be ready with the purple spray.

I think it is a great idea to get two more.  This means that you won't have one hen left on its own if one of them dies.  Hens need company as they are flock animals 

Good luck!