![]() ![]() During this time, I give everyone treats, encourage them, and hold them. When introducing hens into a flock, it’s best to keep them separate for a couple of weeks. It’s generally easier to sneak an immature rooster in with a couple of hens, then let the two roosters work things out as the youngster matures. You may be forced to remove one of the roosters or separate the birds into two distinct flocks. However, this would be a situation to watch closely when they’re mingled. Depending on the situation, say if there were too many hens for one rooster (more than ten), the roosters might work out an “agreement”. The original rooster considers the girls to be “his” and will fight to prevent any stealing of his property. You can try to introduce a mature rooster to a flock with a rooster, but they may never tolerate each other. But everyone should work things out within a few days. As soon as you put the two groups together, the rooster will want to meet the new hens and the hens will be pecking to establish order. If you’re introducing a rooster and hens, then a couple of weeks should be adequate. Both should be happy to meet and there’s no pecking order to establish. If you’re introducing a rooster to a flock of hens, then you can let the two mingle after a day or two. How Long To Wait Before Mixing in New Chickens Then let the two groups familiarize themselves through the wire. So, regardless of whether I’m introducing hens or roosters, I construct a separate pen within the existing pen. I’m sure this is good advice however, I don’t have the room. This can become vicious and new birds may be injured if they can’t escape.īecause of this, many guides on chickens suggest putting all the birds in a new pen (at night) thereby mixing up the order and giving everyone a fresh start. They also have a pre-established “pecking order, and will immediately peck at new birds to put them in their place. Your flock knows the pen is “their” territory and will not welcome new chickens. It’s also a good idea to provide roosts or areas where lower pecking order birds can “hide-out” for short periods of time.Ĭonstruct A Pen-In-Pen To Introduce New Birds Use Chicken Psychology 101 When Introducing New Chickens Step-in should any serious fighting or pecking occur. Remove the separating pen and let all the birds mingle, but make sure you monitor the flock.How long depends on who you’re mixing together (see below for suggestions). Place the new birds in a pen within the existing flock’s pen, and then let the birds get used to each other for awhile.Decide whether they’re girls or boys, and even if you’re pretty sure, have a backup plan.Take some time before introducing them to the rest of the flock. They’re uptight about new surroundings, so try to establish that you’re ok. Make friends with the birds – hold them, talk to them softly and encouragingly, feed them grapes, etc.Consider clipping their flight feathers before putting them in the new quarters.Keep them separate from your flock for from 2-4 weeks to ensure they don’t introduce any diseases to your flock (see Infectious Bronchitis In Chickens).Make sure they’re old enough – at least 14 weeks, or as large as the birds they’ll join.Verify that the new birds are in good health, and have been properly vaccinated.8 Steps to Success When Introducing New Chickens Things went downhill from there (more on that later). Icon - Check Mark A check mark for checkbox buttons.Introducing new chickens into an established flock should be easy, right? Well, when my friend offered me a young rooster, I found out there are some basics to keep in mind.įiguring that a Barred Rock rooster (read a breed profile HERE) would be ok with three Golden Buff hens, I simply added him to their pen. Icon - Twitter Twitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Pinterest Pinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - Instagram Instagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Facebook Facebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Email Used to indicate an emai action. Icon - Search Used to indicate a search action. Icon - Zoom In Used to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - Zoom Out Used to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Location Pin Used to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Dropdown Arrow Used to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Close Used to indicate a close action. ![]() Icon - Down Chevron Used to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Message The icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - External Link An icon we use to indicate a button link is external. ![]() ![]() Icon - Arrow Right An icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Chick-in-a-Box Chicken Coop Icon - Arrow Left An icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |