Introducing new chickens - Where do they sleep?

[Lrnadoon]

Hello! I am going to introduce 3 new chickens to my 5 existing ones. I know the protocals for introductions and seperations etc... What I don't know is where do these new chickens sleep if I only have one coop? Do I put them in with the existing chickens every night and then get up before they do and remove the new ones?!!!

 

[SoggyForks]

Hello! I am going to introduce 3 new chickens to my 5 existing ones. I know the protocals for introductions and seperations etc... What I don't know is where do these new chickens sleep if I only have one coop? Do I put them in with the existing chickens every night and then get up before they do and remove the new ones?!!!

If your chickens are friendly, they'll wake up with the new ones and be fine and dandy. If they're not, try keeping a crate in there during the day for the newbies until they stop puffing up at each other.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Have they been next to each other with only a fence separating them for a couple of weeks so they can get acquainted? We call this the "see-no-touch" method of introduction before physically integrating. If you've done this they should mingle fairly well. When we let ours mingle, the littles usually hang out on the floor of the coop for a couple of weeks before getting brave and starting to get up on the roost with the big girls, but usually there are no problems.

(We did once have a big girl bully, but that's another thread.)

 

[Shadrach]

Hello! I am going to introduce 3 new chickens to my 5 existing ones.

Where did these new chickens come from?
Do they need to be quarantined?

Do I put them in with the existing chickens every night and then get up before they do and remove the new ones?!!!

Assuming you do know the protocols for introducing new chickens then one route is to fence them off from the others in the run so they can see each other but not fight.
From what I've read you don't provide any other options apart from the coop and if that's all you can manage then that's where they'll have to go. If you plan on letting them roost in the coop then there isn't much point in moving them to a seperate area when you let them out.

What may help is if there are multiple places to roost, number of roost bras depending on the number of chickens. I suggest you make the roost bar for the newcomers lower than the regular bar the other hens use and far enough away that the hens on one bar cant peck the hens on the other while they are on the bars.

There will probably be a few scraps while everyone makes sure everyone else knows who is senior to who and with luck they'll settle down. The new hens may well stick together during the day.
If they're getting injured then another coop may be your only option.

 

[Lrnadoon]

Thanks everyone for the information!

 

[Lrnadoon]

Have they been next to each other with only a fence separating them for a couple of weeks so they can get acquainted? We call this the "see-no-touch" method of introduction before physically integrating. If you've done this they should mingle fairly well. When we let ours mingle, the littles usually hang out on the floor of the coop for a couple of weeks before getting brave and starting to get up on the roost with the big girls, but usually there are no problems.

(We did once have a big girl bully, but that's another thread.)

So your saying its OK for them to sleep on the floor for a while? I have not purchased the chickens yet because I want to make sure I know what I am supposed to do with them at night.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yeah it's fine. I call it the "cuddle puddle." Eventually they will start moving up to the roosts. Some people will pick them up and physically put them on the roosts after dark to get them up there a little sooner, but it's really not necessary, unless you have rats that might chew on their toes I guess.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hello! I am going to introduce 3 new chickens to my 5 existing ones. I know the protocals for introductions and seperations etc... What I don't know is where do these new chickens sleep if I only have one coop? Do I put them in with the existing chickens every night and then get up before they do and remove the new ones?!!!

How big is your coop, in feet or meters? What do the rest of your facilities look like? How big is your run and do you consider it predator proof? How old are your existing chickens? How old are your new ones? Before I can answer specific questions suitable for your situation I need to know what you are working with.

In general, as long as mine are not sleeping in the nests and are somewhere predator safe I don't care where they sleep. Chicks sleep on the brooder floor, my broody hens take their chicks to sleep on the coop floor until they are ready to roost, my brooder-raised chicks sleep in a group on the coop floor until they are ready to roost, and some adults (like some Silkies that cannot fly) sleep on the floor. Sleeping somewhere other than the roost will not hurt them. They do it all of the time.

I'll stop typing and wait for your answers before I go further.

 

[Lrnadoon]

How big is your coop, in feet or meters? What do the rest of your facilities look like? How big is your run and do you consider it predator proof? How old are your existing chickens? How old are your new ones? Before I can answer specific questions suitable for your situation I need to know what you are working with.

In general, as long as mine are not sleeping in the nests and are somewhere predator safe I don't care where they sleep. Chicks sleep on the brooder floor, my broody hens take their chicks to sleep on the coop floor until they are ready to roost, my brooder-raised chicks sleep in a group on the coop floor until they are ready to roost, and some adults (like some Silkies that cannot fly) sleep on the floor. Sleeping somewhere other than the roost will not hurt them. They do it all of the time.

I'll stop typing and wait for your answers before I go further.

I have a coop big enough for 8-10 chickens. I have 5 chickens at the moment. We have a large run we use when we are not home which is 30x30. For the most part my chickens free range. I will be closing off part of the run for the 3 new girls. I can either put some type of predator proof kennel in there for them to sleep in or I can put the new ones in the coop at night.

 

[Lrnadoon]

I have a coop big enough for 8-10 chickens. I have 5 chickens at the moment. We have a large run we use when we are not home which is 30x30. For the most part my chickens free range. I will be closing off part of the run for the 3 new girls. I can either put some type of predator proof kennel in there for them to sleep in or I can put the new ones in the coop at night.

My original chickens are 13 mos old. I will be purchasing 5 mos old chickens.