have i done the introductions right with new hen?? help!

[angelat]

hi all,
well i picked up the rescue hen i have adopted a 2-3 year old hen companion for my lone hen. the new hens name is jenny and she is lovely, a black rock. confident personality like miranda my maran cuivree.

when i bought the new hen home she had layed an egg in the carrier box!! and i lifted her up and put her in the coop. well by this time miranda the old hen had come over to investigate saw jenny in her coop and pecked her, then got pecked back etc etc and so the show begins!! did i do right to place the new hen in the coop so she would know where home was?

the new hen is walking around unfazed but seems to be dominating my old hen! she puts her in her place if she pinches her food etc. i thought the resident hen was supposed to dominate the new one. they both have strong personalitys!

any tips?

thanks

angela

[its hilly]

How are they today Angelat?
Nice to hear you got a pal for your lonely girl.
Best way to introduce a newby is to keep her/them in a seperate run within the big one for a couple of days to let them meet without bloodshed. Then after a couple of days put them into the coop at night when they are all asleep. So in the morning they all come out together.
But it's not always possible I know.
It's still better to put them in the coop at night though, and spray everyone, new and old, with a light spray of vinigar diluted a little bit with water. Then they all smell the same as if they have been together for ages.
Could still be worth spraying yours unless they are now getting on like a house on fire. A bit of scrapping is normal, it can seem a lot worse than it is. But they need to sort out top position themselves.
Good luck