[sue anne]

Could anyone tell me how long it takes before my new 15 week old amberlinks, from Grannie Annie, will be accepted by my 7 month old hens and my two cockerels.  I kept my amberlinks separate for about a week and then decided to put them all in together on Saturday.  They have two hen huts so they don't have to sleep together and I have put two or three feeding troughs and water about but my older hens do keep chasing them and pecking at them.  I do realise that they have to sort out a pecking order but how long does this take and am I doing the right thing by putting them all in together.  I thought the cockerels would be the problem but they don't seem to bother with them at all.  :?

[chickenlady]

Hi there Sue anne, my 2 new girls are just settling in now and we have had them for 3 weeks!! they still get chased every now and again but that is just to keep them in their place im sure! Good luck and yes I put them all in together with plenty of places for the new guys to escape to, its just a matter of time now.

[sue anne]

Thank you for that Chickenlady.  As long as I know that I am doing the right thing and that they will settle in a few weeks then I am happy.