I feel all of us get ‘that’ craving each time spring comes round- introducing new chickens to our flock!?
In truth, with our first flock, it didn’t even take us this lengthy. After the primary weekend, we went and acquired one other six pullets.
Earlier than we knew it, we had twelve pullets in our coop staring again at us!
Fortuitously, as the primary six pullets had been nonetheless establishing their pecking order, introducing six further pullets was surprisingly straightforward, and it occurred with out an excessive amount of squabbling.
Sadly, this isn’t all the time the case, and introducing new chickens to your current flock could be a distressing and problematic time for each you and your chickens.
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- Works Rain or Shine so that you don’t need to allow them to out in inclement climate.
- Go forward and get these further hours of sleep or go on trip, our door has you lined.
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Quarantine Earlier than Introducing New Chickens
Grownup chickens are more likely to be carrying a illness or an infection, whereas chicks from a hatchery SHOULD be disease-free. As a rule of thumb, we are saying if you’re introducing chicks or pullets from a good supplier, this step isn’t required.
When introducing new chickens to your flock, step one is quarantining the brand new chickens and guaranteeing they don’t have any infections or illnesses.
While you get your new chickens house, ensure you have a separate coop (or a big crate) ready for them. In case you have a separate coop, you need to make sure that they’re protected of their coop whereas they’re quarantined. Among the best methods to fortify your coop is an automated rooster coop door.
From this separate coop, you may observe them to verify they’re match and disease-free- the very last thing you need to do is give your current flock a illness out of your new chickens.
The important thing issues to search for are:
- Indicators of lice or mites.
- Boring/shriveled comb.
- Blocked nostrils/ fluid coming from their eyes.
- Scaly legs.
In case you are comparatively new to elevating chickens and are uncertain what you might be in search of, ask a extra skilled buddy to verify your new chickens or failing that.
Head over to our Fb web page and ask us.
While your new chickens are quarantined, it’s a good suggestion to complement their water with minerals to verify they’re absolutely match earlier than they meet your current flock.
In the event you discover they appear barely underweight, make sure that to feed them effectively to get them robust and wholesome earlier than assembly your current flock.
Quarantining ought to final wherever from 7 to 31 days. The longer you quarantine your new chickens, the safer it’s for the prevailing flock as a result of you will have extra time to identify any sickness/illness.
Throughout this quarantine interval, ensure you totally wash your palms in-between visiting your new chickens and current flock.
This may stop any illness and infections from spreading between the 2 separate camps.
Introducing New Chickens Slowly
We are able to’t stress this subsequent level enough- don’t rush introducing your new chickens. Even when your new chickens don’t want quarantining, don’t simply place them straight in together with your current flock.
This may trigger plenty of pointless bother and combating.
You want a time period the place your current flock can see the brand new chickens however can’t ‘contact’ them. The best solution to obtain that is to position the brand new chickens in their very own pen, positioned subsequent to the prevailing pen.
This fashion, your current flock can get used to the brand new chickens with out immediately squabbling.
One other standard technique is to position a crate inside the prevailing pen and place your new chickens inside this crate. We’ve not used this method as this can be a extra aggressive tactic.
Whichever technique you determine to make use of, it’s vital that your new chickens are seen for round every week however stored separate out of your current flock.
Give Your Chickens a Correct Introduction
After you will have efficiently quarantined and ‘visually launched’ your new chickens, it’s time to bodily introduce them to one another.
In case your chickens are free-range, the easiest way to introduce them is to let the brand new chickens out first to free-range. Then, after a couple of minutes, open the prevailing coop up and let your current flock be a part of the brand new chickens to free-range.
In case your chickens don’t free-range and are in a pen, then the identical precept applies, place the brand new chickens in pen first. Then let your current flock out to greet the brand new chickens.
When your current flock ‘greet’ the brand new chickens, you can see there will likely be some scraps and jostling as they set up the brand new pecking order.
That is completely regular and is a mandatory step when efficiently introducing new chickens.
It’s best to solely cease this jostling if one of many chickens seems to be injured. Or it begins to bleed- you don’t need your chickens to expertise any everlasting accidents.
In the event you discover that the jostling is getting extra intense and lasts greater than a number of minutes. Separate the brand new chickens and re-introduce them once more tomorrow.
Please proceed to do that as soon as a day till they’ve settled down inside a couple of minutes of introducing them.
You can see that every breed reacts to new chickens in another way. Hybrids and Buff Orpington’s are usually very laid again and welcome newcomers.
Nevertheless, you might discover that Silkies or Rhode Island Reds may be very territorial and don’t take effectively to new chickens.
After the chickens have met and may keep outdoors collectively, it’s time for the ultimate play. That’s shifting the brand new chickens from their crate and into the prevailing coop.
It’s best to discover that after free-ranging for the day, the brand new chickens will observe the flock into the coop. And they’re going to settle themselves in. Nevertheless, if this doesn’t occur and so they attempt to return to their outdated crate- allow them to.
Then, throughout the evening, take the chickens out of their crate and place them into the prevailing coop.
How Lengthy Will It Take Introducing New Chickens?
All the steps above may appear time-consuming and pointless to some yard rooster keepers on the market.
Nevertheless, it’s higher to not rush this stuff in our expertise and ensure due diligence is paid.
Quarantining: This shouldn’t final greater than a month. This gives you loads of time to successfully assess the brand new chickens and deal with any diseases which they might have.
Visible Introductions: Per week right here is loads of time for the prevailing flock to get used to having the brand new chickens of their presence.
Bodily Introductions: In the event you get fortunate, you’ll solely want to do that as soon as, and they are going to be effective. Nevertheless, when you have a extra aggressive/territorial breed of rooster.
It’d take 3-4 makes an attempt to introduce them bodily.
Settling In: After the chickens have been launched, you’ll want to hold an in depth eye on them the next week. Be certain that they’re all consuming and ingesting correctly, and in addition control egg manufacturing.
Generally once you launched new chickens to the flock, they go off lay.
So in whole, you’re looking at round 5-6 weeks from getting your new chickens house to totally integrating them into your current flock.
Particular Circumstances When Introducing New Chickens
Introducing child chicks to adults
In the event you let nature take its course and have a broody hen that hatches her personal eggs, she is going to defend her personal chicks.
Nevertheless, if you happen to purchase an incubator and hatch your personal chicks and attempt to introduce them into your current flock, you’re going to have issues.
For the primary 15-16 weeks, you’ll want to separate the chicks and hold them in their very own pen. It will be greatest to attend till the chicks have their feathers just like the chickens within the current flock.
As soon as they’re an analogous dimension, you may observe the method above with out the quarantine stage.
Mixing Breeds
In the event you intend to introduce totally different breeds into your flock, this may additionally trigger some distinctive issues- the primary concern is the potential dimension distinction.
Bigger breeds will all the time be extra dominant, so it isn’t truthful to introduce a smaller breed (i.e., Silkies) to a bigger breed (i.e., Jersey Big) because the bigger breed will bully the smaller breeds.
I do know some yard rooster keepers who’ve efficiently built-in smaller and bigger breeds right into a flock, however it may be not straightforward.
Suggestions and Tips to Introducing New Chickens to Your Flock
Relocate Each Flocks: If potential, once you introduce the brand new chickens, transfer the prevailing coop and pen to a brand new space, so the prevailing chickens and the brand new chickens are beginning with a brand new piece of land.
Identical Measurement Issues: Attempt solely to introduce chickens which might be an analogous dimension to your current flock.
Lengthen Earlier than You Introduce: Guarantee there’s sufficient room in your current coop and pen earlier than introducing new chickens.
Isolate Aggressive Birds: In the event you discover one rooster, particularly, is overly aggressive to the newcomers, place the aggressive rooster in isolation for a couple of days to place her in verify.
Distract With Treats: While you bodily introduce the brand new chickens, make sure that to have some treats prepared to make use of as a distraction if wanted.
Don’t Introduce Simply One: Be sure you don’t introduce only one new rooster. As a substitute, introduce at the least two new chickens, so the jostling/bullying from the prevailing pack is unfold between them.
Persistence is Key: Keep in mind, chickens want to ascertain a pecking order amongst their flock. New members upset the already fragile steadiness that has been created and established by your present chickens.
Step Again For A Second And Observe: Generally, it may be laborious to face again and watch the drama, however so long as it isn’t turning extraordinarily bloody or lethal, it’s okay to attend it out a bit.
After you’ve launched new chickens to a flock a couple of instances, you’ll begin to discover the standard pecking order habits. And it is possible for you to to see if the habits is simply too aggressive.
Roosters: Sadly, as soon as roosters have reached maturity, it’s unwise to introduce a brand new rooster to a longtime flock (with a rooster).
The fights that ensue will likely be bloody and exhausting for each roosters, and it could finish in dying. So until you’ve stored your roos collectively since beginning and provides them loads of hens, you can’t hold roosters collectively.
Defend Your self: Just remember to are ready to interrupt up a rooster battle if issues get a bit of out of hand throughout introductions.
Beaks and claws will likely be flying, and if you happen to do must intervene, defending your self with leather-based gloves and powerful denim denims will repay if you happen to should insert your self.
Have a Toolkit Helpful: If it’s a must to break up the brawl, have towels, packing containers, and spare cages readily available to include the rowdy flock members till issues relax.
Additionally, retaining a primary support package with a blood cease in it close by might turn out to be useful if issues get bloody.
Our Selection for All-In-One Computerized Hen Coop Door
Sale
Run Hen
- Works Rain or Shine so that you don’t need to allow them to out in inclement climate.
- Go forward and get these further hours of sleep or go on trip, our door has you lined.
- Defend your Chickens from Predators with our self-locking characteristic
Our Selection of Treats for Our Chickens
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