Getting new girls at the weekend

[Apple Betty]

..... and just need a bit of reassurance about integrating them with my 2 (approx) 1 year olds and cockerel.

I know to keep them separate but visible when I first bring them home, they will be in a large metal dog crate inside the big run - but I've only got one house so they will all have to sleep together the first night and then they'll be together the following morning.

Hopefully they'll all then be friends together (with the occasional squabble) and I've read on here somewhere (I think) that having the cockerel should help as he will act as referee. I'm thinking of getting 3 or 4 POL so size wise they should'nt be too different. Do I need to think of anything else? Should I have a Plan B just in case? I know you've all probably done it differently but all suggestions gratefully received.

[Hilary B]

Having the newcomers marginally the majority should even things out reasonably well. The cockerel will be very much in 2 minds, since he will want to have extra girls around, but will also feel obliged to defend the ones he already has.
There will inevitably be some squabbles. The best you can hope for is that no individual gets all the angry attention.....

[timmyalex]

Hey, they'll be fine. I would leave then in the metal cage so the others can see them all day and then wait for darkness. If you place then into the hut in the dark the others don't know until morning and just wake up with new friends.! It's always worked out for us when we add new stock. Best of luck.

[julesapple]

The Vinegar Trick

I had read about this, so tried it when we bought our new girls.

Dilute vinegar in a spray bottle with about 50/50 water. At bedtime spray all the chooks so that they all smell like the chipper. As they all smell alike, there shouldn't be any bullying.

We then let ours out extra early the next morning. There was unacceptable bullying so we partitioned off half of the chook area with spare debris mesh. The new girls were safe, but still visible. We did this for about three days, but during day 4 OH decided to extend the chook's area to include a scrubby area so that they could dig and scratch. The big girls were so interested in this that they forgot about the new girls so we removed the sperating mesh and left them to it.

There was the odd pecking order squabble, and a bit of chasing, but they've settled in well together and were fully integrated by the time we'd had them a week.

Jules

[bluemoon]

I would hazard a guess that first thing in the morning is the crucial time for bullying. Ours have been together as a flock since they hatched last October, but every morning there is a certain amount of facing up to each other, as if re-establishing/confirming the pecking order. It all settles down after a few minutes, but with new stock I'd guess that it might last a while longer and that this was when the new stock would be at their most vulnerable.