How to Introduce New Chickens to Your Flock 

Chick days at Feeds’n Needs are in full swing, and for many of our local poultry lovers, this means adding new birds to an existing flock! Growing your flock is exciting, but introducing new hens can be challenging. Ensuring you’re well prepared is key to guaranteeing a smooth transition, so let’s discuss how to introduce new chickens to your flock safely.

Why it’s Important to Take All the Steps
Chickens instinctively establish a social structure within the flock called a “pecking order.” Each flock member knows their place within this pecking order, which allows everyone to coexist peacefully without fighting over resources.
When new chickens are introduced to an existing flock, it interferes with the pecking order established by the older birds, and bullying is bound to happen until a new pecking order that includes the new members is established.
If the new birds are not slowly integrated into the existing flock, it leaves everyone vulnerable to serious bullying, injuries, and stress, none of which are good for laying productivity and overall flock health.

When to Introduce New Chickens to the Flock
If you’ve decided it’s time to grow your flock, consider choosing breeds that will be similar in size or at least compatible with the current members.
New chickens should be fully feathered, weaned off of supplementary heat, and approximately 8-12 weeks old before being integrated into the flock. Waiting until the new birds have reached a similar size as your older chickens allows you to feed them the proper diet required for growth until they have reached mature, reproductive age, and it gives them more confidence to interact with the older flock members when introduced.
Try to introduce three or more chickens to an existing flock if possible; this way, any bullying from the older hens won’t be directed at one bird. Additionally, introducing a group of new birds that are familiar with each other and have established their own little pecking order will help them feel more secure and confident when being integrated into the rest of the flock.

The Introduction Process
The process of flock integration can be broken down into four steps and accomplished over several weeks.

1. Isolate: Before your new birds come in contact with your older ones, they should be quarantined for at least two weeks to monitor the new birds for any signs of disease, injuries, or parasites. A good precaution to take is to treat everyone for external parasites like lice or mites with Doktor Doom lice killer for poultry and deworm with a piperazine powder for poultry. Find these products and more at your local Feeds’n Needs. Once you’re positive that all your new members are healthy, you may begin the next phase of integration.
2. Segregate: House your new chickens in a temporary cage or fenced area near where the existing flock stays. For example, this temporary pen could be a large dog kennel or crate placed inside the coop or in the run where the two groups of birds can see, hear, and smell each other but not intermingle. This allows everyone to become familiar with each other without the risk of bullying or harassment. The temporary pen should be furnished with a feeder and waterer and large enough to comfortably house your new members during the day. Allow the new birds to get familiar with the flock through the safety of their temporary corral for 1-2 weeks or until the older flock members start to ignore the newbies.
3. Acclimate: Now that the chickens have been introduced in a non-contact way, you may start allowing short periods of “together time,” where everyone can be together in the coop or run without any barriers. If everything is going well and the birds are getting along, you can start increasing the amount of supervised time your birds spend together over the course of a week or two. Allowing both groups to free range together is another great way to start “together time”, and it will give the new birds a chance to get familiar with the coop while the older gals are out. Offering distractions for the older birds may keep them occupied and reduce bullying during the transition period – try hanging a head of cabbage or putting down some premium chopped straw from Feeds’n Needs for the chickens to peck and scratch at to keep them busy! Return the new birds to their own coop after each of these sessions and take this time to check for any injuries that may need attention.
4. Integrate: Once you feel that the flock has accepted the new birds, it’s time for everyone to be together full-time. As the new pecking order is being established, there is still bound to be some bullying, so keep a close eye on the situation and continue to check for injuries. If bullying continues or worsens, you may have to separate the birds again and return to supervised together time for a while longer.

So, are you ready to add to your flock? Stop by your local Feeds’n Needs or visit our website to get all the details about upcoming Chick Days. Remember to stock up on all the poultry essentials at Feeds’n Needs! Our experts are here to help, so don’t hesitate to ask questions!

Learn more about raising and caring for chickens by checking out the poultry section of our blog!
Prep Your Coop for Chicks
Hens Health Throughout the Seasons
Predator Proofing Your Chicken Coop

Sources:
Socializing Chickens: How to Introduce New Chickens to Your Flock | Tractor Supply Co.
How To Introduce New Chickens To Your Flock (backyardchickencoops.com.au)
How to Introduce Chicks & New Chickens to Your Flock (grubblyfarms.com)