How to Introduce New Chicks or Pullets to Your Existing Flock

Spring is just around the corner here in Australia - and for chicken keepers, that often means new additions to the flock.

The longer days and warmer weather bring broody hens, newly hatched chicks and, of course, the temptation to bring home a few new pullets. Because apparently there's always room for just two more chickens.

Whether you're raising chicks under a broody hen, growing out chicks you've hatched yourself, or bringing home new point-of-lay pullets, eventually you're going to face the same question:

How do I introduce them to my existing flock without all hell breaking loose?

Chickens have a very definite social hierarchy - the pecking order - and adding new birds disrupts it. Your existing girls know exactly where everyone belongs, and suddenly introducing a few strangers means they have to work it all out again.

Some chasing, squawking and pecking is completely normal. But there's a difference between chickens sorting out their hierarchy and a newcomer being relentlessly bullied or injured.

The trick is not to rush it.

A gradual introduction gives your old girls time to get used to the newcomers and gives your new chickens a chance to settle into their surroundings before having to navigate flock politics as well.

There are also slightly different considerations depending on whether you're introducing newly purchased pullets or young chickens that have been raised within your existing flock by a broody hen.

Let's go through it.

Bringing Home New Pullets

Spring is a popular time to buy pullets, particularly point-of-lay girls that are getting close to laying their first eggs.

As tempting as it is to bring them home and pop them straight into the coop, don't.

Your existing flock doesn't know these chickens and, as far as they're concerned, a group of strangers has just appeared in their territory.

Quarantine First

Before worrying about introductions, think about the health of your existing flock.

New chickens can look perfectly healthy while carrying parasites or illness. Ideally, newly purchased birds should spend a period separated from your existing flock so you can watch them closely.

Look for things like:

• Sneezing, coughing or unusual breathing

• Discharge around the eyes or nostrils

• Lice or mites

• Diarrhoea or abnormal droppings

• Lethargy

• Poor appetite

• Unusual behaviour

It's much easier to deal with a health problem in a couple of new pullets than discover you've introduced it to your entire flock.

The "See But Don't Touch" Method

Once you're happy that your newcomers are healthy, it's time to start introductions.

One of the easiest and least stressful methods is see but don't touch.

Set up a separate enclosure beside or within your existing chicken area. The two groups should be able to see and hear each other, but there should be a physical barrier preventing them from fighting.

They can scratch around beside each other, investigate each other through the fence and generally get over the excitement of there being new chickens without anyone being able to launch an attack.

Depending on your flock, this might take several days or longer.

Watch their behaviour rather than watching the calendar.

When the resident hens mostly go about their business instead of obsessing over the newcomers through the fence, you're getting somewhere.

Time for the First Proper Introduction

When you're ready to remove the barrier, give them space.

A large run or supervised free-ranging area is much better for first introductions than shutting everyone together inside a small coop.

The newcomers need somewhere to move away if one of the older hens decides to remind everyone who's boss.

Having things scattered around the area can also help break up the space - logs, branches, bushes, chairs, crates or other obstacles that stop one chicken from chasing another endlessly across an open run.

Just make sure you're not creating a dead-end hiding place where a frightened pullet can become trapped.

Some Pecking Is Normal

This is the bit that can make new chicken keepers nervous.

There will probably be some drama.

Your chickens aren't necessarily being horrible. They're working out where the new birds sit within the flock hierarchy.

You might see:

• Chasing

• Warning pecks

• Squawking

• Staring and posturing

• A dominant hen pushing a newcomer away

• Short confrontations

You don't need to intervene every time one chicken pecks another.

But there's a big difference between a quick "I'm above you, thanks very much" peck and one bird being relentlessly attacked.

Step in if a chicken is being repeatedly cornered, pinned down, injured or prevented from accessing food and water.

If there's blood, remove the injured chicken and treat the wound. Chickens are attracted to red and an initially minor injury can quickly become much worse if the flock continues pecking it.

Put Out Extra Food and Water

This is such a simple thing, but it can make introductions much easier.

Don't expect your new pullets to walk confidently up to the flock's only feeder while Gladys, Supreme Ruler of the Chicken Yard, is standing guard.

Put out multiple feeding and drinking stations in different areas.

That way, if the newcomers are chased away from one, they can eat and drink somewhere else.

The same applies to treats. Scatter them over a large area rather than creating one giant chicken scrum around a single bowl.

Don't Introduce One Chicken if You Can Avoid It

If you're expanding your flock, bringing home two or more pullets is generally easier than introducing a single bird.

One new chicken has nobody familiar and becomes the sole focus of the existing flock.

Two or three newcomers have their own little group while they adjust and aren't completely alone while they find their place in the hierarchy.

Which, conveniently, also gives you a perfectly reasonable excuse for buying three chickens when you only intended to buy one.

What About Chicks Raised by a Broody Hen?

This can be a completely different situation.

If your broody hen has hatched and raised her chicks within sight of the existing flock, those chicks haven't suddenly appeared as complete strangers.

The flock has already been watching them grow up.

And mum can be an extremely effective little bodyguard.

A good broody hen will often make it very clear that anyone considering messing with her babies should reconsider their life choices.

This doesn't mean chicks should automatically be left completely unprotected with adult chickens. Every flock is different, and some hens are much more aggressive than others.

But where chicks have been raised alongside the flock with safe areas available, integration can happen much more naturally.

When Mum Decides She's Finished

Eventually, your devoted broody hen is going to decide motherhood is over.

Sometimes rather abruptly.

She'll start spending more time away from the youngsters, return to normal flock life and may even begin telling her own chicks to get lost.

The youngsters now have to navigate the flock without mum standing between them and every grumpy adult hen.

This is another time to keep an eye on things.

Some pecking and chasing is normal as the young birds establish their own place in the flock. What you don't want is a youngster being constantly targeted or unable to access food, water or somewhere safe to sleep.

Introducing Hand-Raised or Incubator Chicks

Chicks raised away from the flock are different again.

They don't have a broody hen protecting them, and the adult flock hasn't necessarily watched them grow up.

Don't put tiny chicks in with full-sized hens.

Wait until the youngsters are well feathered, strong and large enough to cope with the physical difference between themselves and the adult birds.

Rather than relying on one exact age, look at the birds in front of you.

A confident, well-grown youngster going into a calm flock is very different from a tiny timid chick being introduced to a flock of bossy adult hens.

The see but don't touch method works particularly well here too.

Let the youngsters spend time alongside the adult flock before allowing unrestricted contact.

The Night-Time Trick

You've probably heard this one:

"Put the new chickens on the roost after dark and they'll wake up together and nobody will notice."

Nice theory.

Unfortunately, chickens aren't quite that stupid.

Putting new birds into the coop after dark can make that initial moment calmer because everyone is sleepy, but it doesn't magically erase the pecking order.

Come morning, the existing girls are perfectly capable of working out that Brenda wasn't there yesterday.

Night-time placement can be useful after the chickens have already been gradually introduced, but I wouldn't use it as your entire introduction strategy.

Make Sure You've Actually Got Room for More Chickens

Chicken maths is dangerous.

You start with four.

Then you need two Australorps.

Someone has beautiful Sussex pullets.

Your hen goes broody.

Suddenly you own twelve chickens and you're standing in the backyard explaining to your partner that technically the coop can fit another three.

But overcrowding can cause real problems.

Before expanding your flock, think about whether you have enough:

• Coop space

• Roosting space

• Nesting boxes

• Run or ranging space

• Feeders and drinkers

• Shade

• Dust-bathing areas

Adding chickens increases competition for all of those things.

Sometimes what looks like an aggressive flock is actually a flock that's being asked to share too little space.

How Long Will It Take?

There's no magic number.

Some chickens seem to sort themselves out remarkably quickly. Other flocks carry on like they're starring in a backyard version of The Real Housewives for a couple of weeks.

Breed, age, temperament, flock size and available space all make a difference.

Don't rush them simply because you think they should be getting along by now.

The goal isn't for every chicken to become best friends.

You're looking for a flock that can eat, drink, scratch, roost and move around together without one bird being relentlessly bullied.

Take Your Time

The best flock introductions tend to be gradual and fairly uneventful.

Quarantine new birds when appropriate. Let everyone get used to each other through a barrier. Give them plenty of space when they finally meet. Add extra food and water stations and keep an eye on any chicken that seems to be getting more than her fair share of attention.

If you've got chicks being raised by a broody hen, you may find mum does much of the hard work for you.

And if you're heading out this spring to buy "just two pullets"...

We both know how that's going to end.

Good luck with the chicken maths.