once its good and dark you can pick them up without any trouble though as they just kind of shut down at night. Watch for abnormal symptoms such as wheezing, runny noses, crusty eyes, bloody stools, or lethargy. Introducing new birds to your flock can be a stressful time for the new birds, the established flock and for you. The more you step in and try to stop it, the longer it will take to establish flock order. When you introduce new chicks to an existing flock, pecking will happen. Typically, by the second or third night the new chickens choose to roost for the night in the coop with the rest of the flock, especially if the flock integration went smoothly. Introducing a new hen goes easier if she’s had a chance to meet the others through a fence. They have to establish the new … New chickens are often reluctant to roost in the coop. Introducing New Chickens This behavior is what makes integrating new chickens into your flock difficult and stressful, both to you and your chickens. 3- Expand the space: The concept is that when the chickens wake up with a new chicken in the coop they just assume the new chicken is supposed to be there. Do not introduce chickens that show signs of illness. The big problem is that few people realise the problems that potentially can occur when introducing new chickens to the flock. chickens ain't gonna be real friendly, just not in their nature. Why don't you sell chicks year round? Introducing new chickens stresses the birds, which can make them more susceptible to diseases which may have otherwise remained latent. I haven’t found this to be true. How do I introduce my new chicks to other young chicks in the brooder? Quarantine New Chickens. The new flock will need to establish a new pecking order, which can be brutal for everyone involved. Introducing new chickens to an already established flock can be stressful for both the birds and you. So my best advice is to let chickens be chickens and work it out for themselves. Introducing Chickens at Night: Does it Work? 2- Introduce new pairs at night: Many times it’s more practical to introduce new pairs during the night when the older flock is sleeping. hi, i seem to have better luck with introducing new chickens or pullets at daybreak, i don't like the night time method, because when you put new chickens or pullets in at night, they cant see, & they can become very frightened and can hurt themselves, daybreak works much better for me, jmo. How do I get started breeding my chickens? Chickens are best kept in small social groups as they live in the wild. It may seem cruel to us, but this is how chickens communicate. Place her amongst the other hens. Experience says this, the older chickens barely pay attention to such entries and hassles are on minimum scale. Help your flock acclimate to new members by knowing how to introduce them. They will not fight in the dark and it will give the others a chance to get used to the new smell. Leading Your Flock I have tried reintroducing separated chickens by putting them in at night didn’t seem to help. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case and introducing new chickens to your existing flock can be a distressing and problematic time for both you and your chickens. Second Day. Keeping chickens is an addictive hobby and once you get a few birds, often you start thinking about others you’d like to introduce to the flock. I’ve been lucky….introduced one new bird to my small group of 3 chickens. You can count on it. They also have a pre-established “pecking order, and will immediately peck at new birds to put them in their place. The best scenario is to have a pen next to the existing coop and run. They were curious of the new gal and stayed by the pen to watch her. Rob, I realized after reading further that your chickens were not raised by you and therefore they have to re-home. So, give yourself a little extra time when putting chickens up at night to round up any missing chickens and safely settle them into the coop.