[stamford]

  Getting worried now that the group are not going to let her into the group.. Only one of the existing group seems to be the main culprit and is intent on making like hell at the moment.. Do I let them get on with it or do I take the newbie out   If I leave them to get on with things, how long will it take to accept her ??

[Vember]

It could take a while for them to sort it out

I have read that some people take out the bully for a day or two then re-introduce her, this then re-arranges the pecking order a bit.
Not sure if this works though
Do you have somewhere you could put the bully for the time being ?

Sarah

[poppies]

Hi if we have this problem we move the whole flock into a different coop for a couple of days, this seems to shake them up a bit as no one is invading anyone's territory, also did you put the new hen in after dark as this will also help.

[stamford]

We put her in the middle of the day... I do have a an old childrens playhouse which we could use to seperate them.. But at night, there is no problem, they all go into the same house and sleep together They tend to ignore her when they're in the box, they even lay eggs next to her during the morning... It does seem to be 1 thats the problem, may take the problem one out for a day and see what happens

[NormandyMary]

Im going to admit something to you all. Whenever I have bought new hens to add to my brood, Ive just put them in and let them get on with it. Ive never had any problems. Ive added at least 2 at a time, and it has taken them a good few days to mix properly with the others, and feeding time has been a bit dodgy, but they have soon all got on.

[stamford]

Looking at getting another one today, feel sorry for the newbie, she needs some back up... I'm going to add the childrens old playhouse to the chicken run and keep them seperated for a while, they'll still mingle in the day, just see how they get on.... And there was me saying a few months ago, nope 4 is my limit, wont be getting anymore 

[Vember]

Did we not warn you it was addictive

Have to agree with NM after quarantining my Silkies to be sure they were ok, I just put them in the coop at night with the others and let them get on with it the next day
A couple of minor squabbles but nothing major happened


Sarah

[stamford]

It just looks so vicious though and I feel sorry for her 

[Vember]

I know it's horrid
Don't get me wrong if blood was being drawn to any degree I would be in there like a shot
This is where I find mealworms come in handy. As soon as you spot a bit of fighting scatter some in the run they forget what they were doing and eat LOL

I'm very fortunate in the fact they have a lot of land to go at so when I do introduce newbies they can get right away from the others which lessens the chances of problems

Sarah

[raeburg]

They are beastly to each other at times.  I've just moved baby the cockerel to my friends farm and have put on of the 4 12 week old orp babies in with the 16 week old orp.  There was much runnning around and flapping and squawking (and some pecking) but after 24 hours you'd never believe there had been a problem!

[stamford]

Strange tonight, the roost bar had fallen off and there they were all cuddled up together like best friends   Come the morning, it'll be back to normal i guess  :blink: