2 new chickens

That's great, no squabbling!  I introduced 3 new point of lays to my one remaining hen in July and the old one was a swine with them for about a month.  She's now accepted them and they are rubbing along quite well.  Hope it continues to go well for you.

Jacqui

Hi

My new ones are very vocal as well, especially when they lay, the whole neighbourhood knows about it!  I've had a problem because my new chickens brought in Mycoplasmas which is a respiratory problem which makes them sneeze and wheezy.  They passed it on to my old chicken and I had to take her to the vet.  They have all been treated and we have had to throw the eggs for 7 days whilst they were been treated and a further 7 to get the antibiotics out of their system.  We can start eating them again on Sunday.  Bought eggs just aren't the same or as fresh and I can't wait to start eating decent eggs again!  My vet told me it isn't a good idea to introduce new chickens to an old one but I didn't know that and 'you live and learn'.  Good luck with your new girls.

The key to adding new chooks is to quarantine them for 2 to 3 weeks before adding them to your existing birds. With birds carrying Mycoplasma it may not be obvious until it is too late as it often doesn't reveal itself until the birds are stressed. Do not add to this flock until all your birds have gone to the big henhouse in the sky. They will all carry the disease now even if they don't always suffer from it and will pass it on to new ones.