[MY-Five-gals]

Am I correct in thinking you cannot introduce new hens to an
'egg'sisting (sorry) brood of hens??

I am besotted they are so lovely and  seem to quite like a bit of Elvis

[babe]

you can always get more hens    you may need to seperate them while they settle in, to prevent any major squabbles or cross infecting of germs.

but they'll be fine. im always bringing new ones home.

[Foxy]

Just takes a little planning - best not to introduce just one though. I usually have the new hens in a separate run during the day so they can see each other but not be able to squabble then after a week leave them together - thats after putting them together at night first. Chickens never fight when they are roosting. But be prepared for a little sqabbling as its only natural when sorting out the pecking order!

So have you room for a Poland (or two!) silkie, cochin,faverolles......They are addictive aren't they!    

[Viv]

Yes, I agree with foxy and Babe, you just have a period of adjustment for the hens to meet and greet, usually they do have a few spats, but keep an eye on them and once they all amell the same they seem to accept the new ones readily into the flock.

[hotterotter]

Chickens never fight when they are roosting

Not entirely true, the dominant hen in my flock chases newcomers out of the house when we put them in after dark. On one occaision she chased all the other hens out and stood in the pop hole to stop any of them coming back in. She is the exception rather than the rule though. We employ a different system for introducing new birds we segregate her and the new birds from the flock, firstly introducing the new birds to the flock and then re-introducing the top hen. She's going in a casserole next autumn   .

[babe]

Chickens never fight when they are roosting

Not entirely true, the dominant hen in my flock chases newcomers out of the house when we put them in after dark. On one occaision she chased all the other hens out and stood in the pop hole to stop any of them coming back in. She is the exception rather than the rule though. We employ a different system for introducing new birds we segregate her and the new birds from the flock, firstly introducing the new birds to the flock and then re-introducing the top hen. She's going in a casserole next autumn   .

like you say rotterhots, she is the exception. but in the majority of cases, it doesnt cause any problems.

if it was a big ssue, there wouldnt be so many of us that keep bring home more chickens, or just finding new ones in the garden.

[Foxy]

Funny that! I have a feeling I might be finding a few more chickens in the garden after this weekend