[avilla]

hi just put our 3 new birds it with the other 2  

they have been kept apart for the last 3 weeks ,but able to see one another :happy:

am expecting carnage in the morning ,we have hung greens ready to occupy them anything else we can do to stop them from squabbling when we let them out of the coop into the run in the morning???

[bantam novice]

Just wanted to wish you good luck and say keep the purple spray ready just in case!

[PaulineM]

Good luck, they will probably still have a squabble but things will settle down  

[viettaclark]

I've got 3 well established 2+ year olds and I'm getting 2 pol on Sunday.
I have looked at the different advice...some say slip them in to the coop at night then let them sort themselves out in the morning, others to keep separate but let them see each other.
I've got 2 coops: the eglu cube has a big run, the other a small run. My girls are let out to freerange the garden at lunchtime and go in to the cube themselves at night.
I thought if I keep the new ones in the small coop for a few days the old ones can nose about the outside of their coop and suss out the competition and the new ones will get used to their environment. Then I'll mix them in the cube at night and wait for the fight in the morning.
There're bound to be fights to establish the pecking order but as hens are SOLELY concerned with food I thought several feeders/ drinkers dotted about might help a bit?
What do you think? What has worked for you?

[wayne*goodman]

i am new to keeping chickens. i have 2 young girls who are p o l, in one house and run, and 3 girls in a larger one. they have been able to see each other for nearly 2 weeks, so i decided to put them altogether.i had also had conflicting advice when it was best to introduce them. i made sure there was plenty of food and water availible in the run, at first it all seemed fine,but after a hour or so it all kicked off! my 3 girls started to fight with my younger girls pecking, squaking, wings flapping, this continued allday. as i said i am new to keeping these wonderful creatures so pannicked a lot !! in the end i decided enough was enough and moved my 2 little girls back into there run and house. i dont no if i have done wrong ? but i couldnt see them being picked on like they were.all is now fine although be it it separate accomodation. i would welcome any comments or criticisms on if i have done wrong

[avilla]

hi just put our 3 new birds it with the other 2  

they have been kept apart for the last 3 weeks ,but able to see one another :happy:

am expecting carnage in the morning ,we have hung greens ready to occupy them anything else we can do to stop them from squabbling when we let them out of the coop into the run in the morning???

well they have been out together now for about an 11/2 hours few squabbles with the new ones running and hiding in the coop then coming out again for a while then being chased back into the coop.

Have got  a few greens hanging and extra food bowls and drinking points dotted around the run to try and help 

will update as the day goes on !! Wink

[LittleRedHen]

Doesn't sound too bad so far.  How's it going now?

[Lindeggs]

i am new to keeping chickens. i have 2 young girls who are p o l, in one house and run, and 3 girls in a larger one. they have been able to see each other for nearly 2 weeks, so i decided to put them altogether....

Hi Wayne, firstly welcome to the forums.

I wonder how big your run is, as that may be one of your issues.  Five hens in one run are going to need a fair bit of space to sort out their pecking-order issues.  Is there any way you can increase the space, at least during the introduction time?

Also are there places where the new girls can go that will be right out of sight of the older ones?  Can you place some moveable barriers in the run?  Potted plants?  Other distractions?

Putting extra food and water in there was a good idea, as was letting them spend time seeing each other before they got together.

[wayne*goodman]

thankyou for your welcome.
my run is an L shape, and is 8ft length x 6ft width x 4ft height, i did separate them for a while leaving my 2 younger girls near the coop, but in hindsight perhaps i should of put the 3 girls there instead of leaving them in the larger part of the run. i am going to build an extension to my 2 girls run and not put them altogether,as since i moved them back they have all seemed to be happy

[avilla]

update:

new birds seem to be stayin in the coop whilst the 2 older birds roam the run ,have let the older ones out now to roam the garden so new ones have come out

but soon as olds ones are put back in run new ones dissappear into coop

[avilla]

update:

new birds seem to be stayin in the coop whilst the 2 older birds roam the run ,have let the older ones out now to roam the garden so new ones have come out

but soon as olds ones are put back in run new ones dissappear into coop

Well they have just gone to bed

Afternoon and evening went quite well 1 or 2 little squabbles but nothing major

hopefully they will now know they are using the same run and get on with things

its worse than having kids lol