Introducing a New Chicken

We have all heard of the phrase “the pecking order”. Chickens establish a hierarchial order in their flock. This is thought to have evolved over many thousands of years in the jungle fowl of South East Asia. The pecking order allowed the flock to eat in turn and peacefully when food was available. If they were fighting at these times, they would be wasting their opportunity to eat and attracting attention to themselves from predators.

The pecking order is still well and truly with the hens of today and hens can be incredibly cruel to newcomers. If you are mixing hens that aren’t used to one another, you should make sure you are around to keep an eye open for trouble. The following points may help:

  • Place newcomers behind a fence or in a small run for a week so that they can get used to their new surroundings and get used to one another.
  • Introduce a new hen at night to the coop when it is dark. Place her amongst the other hens. They will not fight in the dark and it will give the others a chance to get used to the new smell.
  • If pecking takes place, leave them to get on with it as much as you can. They have to establish the new pecking order but…
  • If blood is drawn at any point, remove the hen and try again when the injury has healed. Chickens are attracted to red and will peck blood very quickly.
  • You may want to try removing the hen that is fighting with the newcomer to the flock for a little while until the new hen has settled into the flock, then put the trouble maker back in.

If you are still having difficulty with the hens getting along, you can try an Anti-peck spray and if you have real problems, ‘bumpa bits‘ can be fitted to the beak for a while. These stop the end of the beak closing completely so prevent her from causing damage to other hens but she is still able to eat and drink normally.

158 Comments

  1. Hi, 3 years ago I got 3 chickens, 1 died last year and we were left with the 2 however last night another one died, my question is at the age of three should I wait till till the remaining chicken passes away or should I get new ones whilst she is still alive, if so should I get 2 or three. I like to get them just before they are laying so they can settle in. Your advice please. Thank you xx

    • Yes, they are flock animals so I would try to get a couple more at least to keep her company. Just make sure they are a similar size before introducing them so they can look after themselves.

  2. We have three very spoilt chickens that we have kept for about a year now. Two off them have bcome very noisy in the morning, do you have any sugestions?

    • Keep them in the dark for longer … then again, it will soon be darker in the mornings anyway so they should be up later!

  3. I have just bought 3 maran chickens, 4 days ago, They are22 weeks, so far they have layed no eggs at all, just a mountain of poo.

    Are they too young to lay or is it more likely stress due to new home/ house

    any help would be great thanks

    • It’s hard to say as there are a number of reasons why they might not be laying. They are still a little young, Marans are a large bird and they take some time to develop fully.

      Be patient for a few more weeks and see if they start. The good news is, they should lay into the winter when others will have stopped 😉

  4. Hi i have four older chikens two light sussex and rhode island browns
    I can have twelve birds where i keep them, on my allotment.
    I have beeen looking at some 16 wk old birds and would like to introduce 8 more to the flock i have.
    I have only one coop, but a very large run, for them would i need to build a secand coop, as i may have been given” wrong advice” and told keep apart for one day, in coop at night, and should be out together the next day with no prblems??????
    Help please, as im not there all time, and would not like to find distressed bird in run.
    Thanks in advance.

    alan

    • Sometimes it works but more often than not they will need longer to get used to one another. Only take them out if blood is drawn and make sure they are let out at daybreak so they can get away from bullies.

  5. Hi, I was given 2 Maran hens back in March. They are probably 3 or 4 years old, though it’s difficult to be sure. Both have been very healthy and happy, but at 11 am today, I found one of them dead in the run. No obvious signs of any ill health or disease. So, I have 2 questions.
    1. Is it ok to keep the remaining hen on her own? Given they are flock dwellers normally, I’m assuming this isn’t ideal?
    2. If I need to introduce new birds, is it ok to introduce much younger ones?
    Thanks

    • 1. No you should really keep 2 as a minimum. As you say, they are flock animals.
      2. It isn’t ideal but yes I would introduce a younger bird. Just make sure it is fully grown and therefore big enough to look after itself.

      By the way, it’s Marans after the name of the town in western France, lots of people leave off the ‘s’.

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