Introducing New Chickens: Using the “See but don’t touch” Method

I highly recommend this method, especially as I did have a rough experience with my first introduction of 4 hens with flock of 2, where 1 hen got spooked and ran into the AC unit killing it instantly. I highly recommend you keep the barrier up until the flock starts to ignore and show less interest in the new birds and open yard so much better so new birds have room to run and not get cornered and less risk of running into objects, like the coop, etc and cause injury.

I actually found a picture I took of barrier splitting my enclosure up with a new group of girls that I sent to neighbor that was going to watch them for a weekend. Old window screens or a makeshift tractor (I made one from PVC pipe, irrigation tubes, and bird netting with zip ties and some screens; see top right picture of last picture) work great to separate new and old hens, especially as loose chicken wire can be hard to set up temporarily as it flimsy and wants to curl.

I am using this method to introduce my new flock to my older chickens. It's fun to watch them getting acquainted with each other.

Bahaha! By the title I thought this was a way to introduce new breeds to myself, intended to help BYC’ers have fun and still maintain healthy chicken acquisition rates and flock sizes.
Great article, though!

Great information for a newbie. I have 3 hens and one rooster and almost ready to add new girls to flock. Just waiting for feathers to be fully there. Anxious to try method.

very helpful & easy to read...

I have used this method many times in my chicken keeping years. It works every time! This is definitely the best method to go with. I especially agree with what was said about not breaking up fights, with very few exceptions.

Excellent method for integrating chickens to an established flock

Adding new birds is always stressful. Knowing how to do it reduces a goodly portion of that stress. Well done.

I liked the pictures and the way you wrote it. This is definitely going to help me add my new chickens in to the flock. Thanks!
Fluffy

Thank you for all of the wonderful information. I started out doing the "see but dont touch" method. It's still a work in progress though. I want to be sure they are ready to coexist together before I integrate them. But now I know I'm doing the right thing. Thanks again!

Great article. I should have read 'this', abouth the pecking order before I added chicks to my older chicks.

My experience:
When I started with chickens I bought 5 chicks, 6 weeks old. After a month or so, 3 apeared to be male allthough he claimed they were all female. Agreed with the seller that I could trade them and I added younger chicks, also 6 weeks old. I didn't know this could cause problems.

The younger chicks were having a hard time. A second pen where the older chicks could not enter gave them peace. And in the end it worked out well. Although there was another cock. Which was not the intention.

I kept the rooster until the following spring. Untill a hen was breeding on fertilized eggs. The rooster had to leave the flock because of the noise.

Since then I always had new chicks with natural breeding. From fertilized eggs or by keeping a rooster till april and a hen gets broody. So nice to see a mother hen nursing their chicks. This never gave a problem with introduction.

Luckily I never had problems with giving away the young roosters for their beauty or to pretect flocks of sexed hens (hybrids).

Thank you!

Love the see don't touch way to introduce. Some of My smaller ones got loose and into the older chicks area. All the older chicks are dark colored right away the big ones weemed to peck the California Whites on top of the head the little ones tried to run away.Thankfully I caught it and got Them out.going to move Everyone into the meet and greet area this week.
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Very good information and lovely pictures! A very good and helpful article!

Good information and covers several important aspects such as quarantine, age/size/appearance that can make introduction of new chickens to a flock more or less challenging

Thanks for an excellent article.... M

This article was well thought out and clear to understand.

Well written article on how to introduce new birds to an existing flock, good photos. I also liked that a period of isolation was encouraged prior to trying to add new birds.