so now that we only had four chickens, which was not even close enough to supporting our five member family with eggs, i decided that i wanted two more-to make six. so on Valentine's Day this year, i drove to Ojai, to get two more RIR pullets at a cute little farm Blue Hills Farm, that has many different breeds of chicken, turkey, goats, and other fancy birds (they even had emu that i got to pet!). since the two new girls were around 7-8 months old, they cost $20 each-which is a good deal. though this does seem expensive, it is only because the previous owner has raised and cared for them longer. so i put them in our portable cage in the car, and drove home.
previously, i had built a temporary cage for the new girls, because the best way of introducing new chickens to your flock is slowly and gradually-so no one gets seriously hurt, and will have a better relationship in the end.
here are things to do and prepare for when adding adult hens or practically full grown pullets to your flock:
1) make a temporary cage for the new chickens next to your original chickens' pen so they can see each other but not have physical contact-one should expect to keep the new chickens in a separate cage for 2-3 weeks. the temporary cage can be made of:-chicken wire, wood. but make sure it is resistant against predators and covering from rain, cold, etc.
2) they must have food, water, and veggies, a perch of some sort, and a nesting box if they are laying,3) and a ground covering they are able to scratch around on and occupy themselves.
-have a LARGE area to put them in, like a backyard, with bushes and places for the new girls to hide and take a break
-watch them 24/7 when introducing them in the beginning-so you can break up any fights that are getting out of hand-this will also establish your authority over the flock-do not let them have contact for more than 10 minutes at a time about 3 times a day during the first couple days of contact, then gradually lengthen the time-expect this whole process to spread over 3-5 weeks for all to be normal again.
-if you have especially aggressive poultry, go to this website http://www.blpbooks.co.uk/articles/aggressive_poultry/dealing_with_aggressive_poultry_pecking_order.php-you can also distract your original chickens with treats and goodies to give the new girls a break
-your new girls will always be at the bottom of the pecking order (unless you have an especially persistent chicken)
-when they are fighting, expect them to jump on each others' backs, spread their feathers, make weird sounds, have feathers pulled out, at worst some some blood spots on the comb and feathers, and chasing and pecking consistently-but if this behavior continues over some length of time you may need to get rid of your especially aggressive poultry or keep separate permanently.here are things to remember:
-i only know how to introduce hens with hens-i have never introduced very young pullets or chicks to a flock and would not recommend it until the are of the same size as your original chickens. and i don't know how to introduce roosters with hens-though i imagine it is like the same process . but please do not rely on this process of intro with chicks or roosters.
-most neighborhoods don't allow roosters, so make sure what you are doing is legal
-chickens are wonderful carriers of viruses and diseases. so make sure the new hens you are getting are healthy. if you suspect something is wrong with one you should be able to get a different one from the place you bought them, or keep the sick one in quarantine for a couple weeks and give your chickens vacs.
hope this works!
(on top is a pic of my baby cousin Carly and the two new girls)
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