Introducing/Bullying

[bobby2170]

Hi everyone! I am getting ready to introduce my new set of chickens to my older flock! My older flock consists of 1 Easter Egger, 1 Isa Brown, 1 Barred Rock, & 1 Leghorn (all females). My new flock consists of 1 Buff Orpington Rooster, 2 Buff Orpington Hens, 2 Speckled Sussex Hens, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster (who was supposed to be a hen, we may give him away), 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte Hen, and 1 Easter Egger Hen.

First off does anyone have any tips on introducing them? We added on to our run this spring but haven't opened it up to the old run yet, so the 8 little ones have been living there but they can't get to the older ones. My older flock is pretty calm so I'm hoping we won't have major issues.

Second off, I have read that calmer breeds such as orpington can get picked on by more aggressive chickens. Do any of my breeds have tendency to be aggressive? If so are there any steps we should take to prevent this from ever happening. There will be 12 (or 11 if the SLW Roo goes) Chickens in our flock and the have 48 sq ft of hen house space, and 136 sq ft of run space. We let them free range in the evening every day too.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Bantambird]

You may need to rehome the other rooster, depending on how your roosters treat the hens. A typical ratio is 10 hens to one cock. Besides that, it is good for the birds to see each other before the official introduction. This helps them to get to know each other before intermingling. How old are your little ones? They should be big enough to fight back if necessary, you don't want unnecessary roughness. That said, they will all fight, even the docile ones, while figuring out the new pecking order. You should keep an eye on them, but don't interfere unless somebirdy is going to be seriously injured, otherwise they will fight harder when you aren't looking. As far as aggression, Mediterranean breeds and production birds can be more aggressive, but then again, you know the personalities of all your ladies. It comes down to their individual personalities in the end.