[newChickenMummy]

Hi there, we have recently acquired 3 new hens (we already had 3), we have split the run so they are kept separately (and in separate coops) with a wire mesh between to keep them apart. There has been some fighting already through the wire with a bit of blood being spilled but its been 2 weeks now and we are unsure of how we should start to integrate them.

Someone suggested one hour each night before bedtime which we have done a couple of times but my existing girls go for them and the new girls just stay huddled in the corner terrified. I don't want to interfere and would rather let nature take its course but I don't want it to be a bloodbath either. Our existing girls are being very territorial which is of course to be expected but what do we do to get them mixing?

Someone suggested putting them all in together at bedtime but I've been worried about doing this so far, also what would happen in the morning? Would they fight as soon as they wake up together?

Oh and also the new girls had red mite when they arrived which we have manage to sort using frontline but 2 of them don't lay at all and one of them lays a soft egg each day (this was also the case at their previous house). Also one of them is very scraggy looking and very bald underneath. Do you think these are just symptoms of the red mite? I'm not bothered if they don't lay but I just want them to be healthy which they didn't seem to be at all when they first joined us. Apparently they are 2.5 years old.

Sorry for the long post but I'm not sure what to do.

Thanks x

[henamoured]

Do you have a garden lawn or other space which is 'neutral'. If so, you could let them all out together. If they start to square up to each other you could distract them by throwing a bit of bread or other treat round so that they are more concerned to catch that. I'd suggest just doing that for say 10 mins initially then gradually extending the time. I think it is a very slow process to get them to accept each other lasting 1-2 months before they really settle.
If you put them together at night you do need to get up really early and separate them again to begin with (and this has got to be the worse time of year to do that! I'm not sure when dawn is at the mo - before 5 I think!)
Just make sure there is more than one food and drink station when they are all in together so the little ones at the bottom of the pecking order don't starve!
Good luck and keep going, they'll get there eventually.

[viettaclark]

I've been there and done it!
I put 2 new younger ones in with my very spoilt 3 hens late at night when they were all asleep. I left them shut in the coop until late morning to get to know each other (advice was to teatime but I cracked!)
There was terrible fighting with the 2 new ones getting really pecked with blood and everything. I was so worried it would start a blood lust and pecking to the death!!
I let them out of the run to give them more space and continued to do this for a couple of weeks. The little ones took up residence on the run roof so I kept water and pellets up there!! Funny thing was they went into the coop at night as good as gold from day 1 even though they were badly beaten up at the top of the ladder!
Eventually things settled down with just the odd gang fight when treats came out (I now sprinkle far and wide!) but I needed them to get used to being in the run rather than freeranging all day so last week I started letting them out around lunchtime. Again...a few scuffles but they are forming a cohesive flock now, laying again more regularly every week and everyone knows their place which is what it's all about! Bluebelle is boss and makes sure they're all in before she goes to bed (mother hen) and gives the odd peck to keep them all in order. They go in and come out in pecking order too.
Those 3 weeks were TERRIBLE and sometimes I was at my wit's end  but the "cruel to be kind" method of integration worked well and the behaviour I studied was fascinating.....
I now have a flock of 5 very happy chooks with pecked combs healed and new feathers growing.

[newChickenMummy]

Thanks for your replies, both quite different methods but I don't think I could bring myself to put them all in together and just hope for the best (I know I'm soft lol) the new girls are a lot smaller and really seem terrified of them. I think I will take the slower option but thanks I totally see your point about being cruel to be kind.

We don't really have a neutral space, we just built a bigger run for them all so it has kind of taken up all the space. I think we will just have to take it really slow with them and be patient. I'll wait a while before putting them all in to sleep together but someone else suggested blocking their window out so its dark in the morning when they wake up, I'll still wait a while before I do this though.

[Abacus]

I just introduced Milo & Mrs Milo (bantams) to the general prison population (Rhodies) in Stalag Luft Chook. Things looked okay till Milo took it upon himself to get overly familiar with Tuppence.. she beat the dodo out of him and then general gang warfare broke out.. It all calmed down after a while though it looks like Mrs Milo has pretensions of being the run boss which will be quite a feat as both she & Milo are about half the size of the Rhodies.

I think if Milo has another attempt on the south face of one of the Rhodies he will have to be issued with climbing equipment or a stool...

[bantam novice]

Hello NewChickenMummy

Redmite can be persistant ****ers and don't live on the hens.  Frontline is good for visitors that live on or in the hen but redmite live in the cracks and crevices of the coop and only drop down onto the hen at night to feed. 

If you type redmite into the search box in the top right-hand corner you will find all sorts of info about what to do.  As I understand it Diatom (Diatomaceus Earth) powder mixed into a slurry and painted onto the ends of the perches and into the cracks, crevices and other lurking places of your coop is recommended. 

Redmite can also lie dormant in the ground for months so you will need to keep watching for them.  If you take a piece of white paper an slide it into potential lurking places you will see red staining if there are redmite that have been actively feeding.

Good Luck and keep us posted 

[Honeysuckle]

I think if Milo has another attempt on the south face of one of the Rhodies he will have to be issued with climbing equipment or a stool...