New ladies

Hi there chuckmad.

Yes you can introduce new hens at any time of the year but if possible try to have your new girls penned off but within sight of your resident hens. It might be a good idea to invest in a small temporary house for this period and it can be used as as hospital wing/broody coop or quarantine quarters again in the future. Let them have several weeks to get used to being near to each other like this (this will serve as a good quarantine time to make sure your new girls don't bring in any nasty lurgies). One night when it is totally dark put the new girls into the main hen house with their new companions. Ensure that the next day there is plenty for everyone to do e.g. buckets to hide in, maybe a peck block to work on, some cabbage leaves hung up to peck at, maybe an old log to root through for grubs and to climb on etc. Be prepared for your original birds to be quite stroppy with the new girls and keep a eye on them all to ensure everyone gets food and water (maybe more than one feeding and watering post) and that no one gets really badly bullied. Saturday night is quite a good time to do this as you will be around all day on Sunday. Best of luck. OL

the odd tiff will be fine-just sorting out the pecking order

CC xx