Growth, Development, and Pecking Order of Your Flock

Adding more chickens to your flock is a delightful way to have more fresh eggs, friendly clucking, and silly antics to watch. In order to achieve a healthy, utopian environment for the whole flock, consider these tips when introducing the newcomers to the rest of the flock.
Chickens instinctively establish a pecking order from a very young age. This process establishes an authoritarian system, and determines dominance and rank. With new chickens in the coop, the status quo changes and the pecking order must be reestablished.
Chickens will fluff their neck feathers, strut, raise their wings, and peck at each other's necks to establish pecking order. The weaker ones will submit to the more dominant ones and effectively give up their rights to eating and drinking first, as well as access to the most coveted nesting boxes. This is a normal and necessary step to how the flock functions, but introductions should be made slowly and with care.

Consider the Breed and Size
Some breeds of chickens are more welcoming to newcomers than others. Hybrids, Buff Orpingtons and Plymouth Rocks are friendly, docile, and take to newcomers easily. On the other hand, Silkies or Rhode Island Reds can be very territorial and may not readily accept newbies.
Be sure to wait to introduce the chickens until they are all about the same size. Introducing younger chickens while they are still small in size will lead to inevitable bullying.

Eggs-amine Your Space
Make sure your chicken coop has enough space to accommodate everyone. This includes adequate space on the roosting bar, enough nesting boxes, free space around feeders and waterers, and plenty of personal space per chicken both inside and outside of the coop. Tight, cramped quarters lead to territorial, cranky birds that are more likely to fight.

Making Introductions
When it's time to make introductions it is wise to not rush the process.

• You may want to quarantine the new chickens for up to month to ensure they are disease free and will not contaminate your existing chickens.
• Put the new chickens in a crate and place it next to the coop for one week so they can see and hear each other.
• After a week, let only the new chickens into the pen first. Then, let the others join in.
• If there is too much squabbling, place the newbies back in their crate and try again the next day. It may take 3-4 attempts before there is peace and acceptance. You can always use treats, like PopWorms!, as a distraction, to break up fights, and to affirm that their food source has not been compromised.
  

With patience and care, your growing flock will soon be healthy and thriving!

If you haven't done so already, check out our post from last week on tips for building a chicken coop; you might get lucky and find a coupon code!