The Poultry Keeper

mcleod-girls · Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 11:28 am Post subject: introducing new chickens

hi. me and my daughter have just found this fantastic site, we are not the only chicken crazy people out there! hello2

We got 10 pullets in September (I think they maybe bantams?), 7 of which were cockerels! To supplement the three ladies and two remaining cockerels that we have kept, we recently bought three more hens. Do you have any advice about integrating? The two cockerels are now fighting which they weren't before, and the three newcomers are being pecked a bit, have not left the shed yet, and did not want to admit the others after their day out last night! I know its early days yet but am not sure if we are doing the right thing. They are a decent sized stone built outbuilding, with plenty of food and water, and access outside during the day.

The original three are not laying yet but I think that is normal, they were born (do you say born or hatched?) in July, and the new ones are "point of lay" pullets who have just started laying (but not for me yet.)

We are hoping maybe two groups will form? We would appreciate any advice and tips.

We live on a 3/4 acre croft, 4 miles from the sea and it is very windy and cold just now, but a beautiful part of the world. Very Happy

thank you

CP · Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:42 pm Post subject:

Hi & welcome again!

6 hens is not very many to share between 2 cockerels, but if you have lots of space for each one to escape to, the fighting may not get too bad.

Newbies are always attacked, sometimes quite nastily! But they will settle down in time. It's usually recommended to keep new ones separated , but still able to see one another, then introduce them to the coop at night. Wink

Make sure there are 2 feeders & drinkers at each end of their run as that will help with bullying. Throw a handful or 2 of corn when you see any fighting start, as it may distract them & make them forget about it for a while! Food is always a good bribe. Rolling Eyes

Do you know what breed they are & if they are in fact bantams or LF? Pictures will help if you are unsure - we always love pics & the chance to guess the breed! Very Happy

mcleod-girls · Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:27 pm Post subject:

Hi Chicken Palace

Thanks for your reply and advice.

Today was a bit better, three newbies ventured outside and seemed to enjoy the outside world. they have a free run around the ground and this seemed to help the pecking. Interestingly the second cockerel waited for them to go out, but once they were out the dominant one "claimed" them and chased him away

We are hoping that if there is no shortage of space or food it will help. At bedtime the less confident cockerel seemed a bit reluctant to go in but did in the end, and all 8 were huddled together on two adjacent perches, not the two opposite ones as in previous days. We have only had the newbies for 5 days so I thinks its going quite well.

I will post some pictures when I figure out how to do it, but the newbies are bigger than the others and the guy that we got them from said they were banties. The newbies are light Sussex's and a black one, I forget, could it be a maran?

Thanks once again for your help

wav

debcat · Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:31 pm Post subject:

sounds like they are beginning to settle down Very Happy

cockerels are funny, they may well split into two lots, but the dominant one might claim the lot for himself

mcleod-girls · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:09 pm Post subject:

Hi Chicken Palace

You asked about the breeds, the initial flock are heinz 57, do you call them hybrids? they were a gift and have got us started.
I then heard that pure breeds give better eggs and more of them, is this true? So the three newbies, Esme Githa and Magrat, one is completelyblack a quite timid, (magrat) the other I think are light sussex's? One is completely white with yellow legs, the other has the lovely black and white feathers at both ends.

I have photos but am not sure how to post them? Apparently you can't download directly?

The 6 hens seem to be getting on better but the second cockerel has been renamed Lonely, we may have to re home him Sad

What does everyone else do if they get lots of cockerels from a hatching?

bye for now

Confused

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1425 Location: Leicestershire

Hi McLeod Girls

I would get rid of the secong cockerel, you don't really have enough girls for them both, I eat mine when I get too many but not everyone can do that.

I struggled for a while posting photos but it's actually quite easy, there are good instructions somewhere on here, you need gallery space first so get that sorted and find the instructions and then you should be away.

Hybrids are purpose bred for egg production, they are a crossed line of two highly inbred lines, so you get lots of eggs at the slight expense of a shorter life (not always) and egg quality (again not always) some hybrids are better designed for outdoor life than others. Pure bred birds can lay very well, the egg quality is good, they will live for several years and if you have the same breed cockerel then the offspring will be the same as the parents, you can breed from hybrids, and they will lay eggs but not as many as the parents.

Itsybitsy

mcleod-girls · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:27 pm Post subject:

Thanks for that.

The ones we were given hatched from hybrids last summer, whilst we were caring for the flock during owners summer holidays, which is how we came to have them. The Friend has about 20 hens, but only gets about 3 eggs this time of year, could that be because they're hybrid offspring?

I think you're right about the cockerel Sad

debcat · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:28 pm Post subject:

you could always get another couple of hens to keep him happy Rolling Eyes

mcleod-girls · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:32 pm Post subject:

Now that's an idea!! Dancing

debcat · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject:

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1425 Location: Leicestershire

The theory is that the birds will lay best in their first year, assuming you have hybrids which lay 300 eggs per year, that's 65 eggs short of one per day, the birds at some point need a bit of a rest, they also will moult their old feathers and grow new ones - usually in the autumn, this is quite a strain so they usually stop laying at that point and recommence when the nights start drawing out a bit, so your friends birds will be in that period now and will start laying again towards the end of this month or sometime into the next, Pure breds will take a bit longer as they lay fewer eggs anyway, this is assuming your friends birds have had only one laying season, the number they lay per year will decrease each year. if you want winter eggs then you have to either buy point of lay in the autumn or have your own youngsters hatched by about the beginning of May to start laying by about December, the daylight length affects them and I think they lay an egg every 26 hours, if you put them in artificial light it will increase the eggs during the winter, but they still will need a rest period of some sort. It takes some management to get eggs all year roung and you have to be ruthless and cull anything that isn't performing well or put up with fewer eggs in the winter like most of us do Very Happy

As an old farmer once said to me "everybodys hens lay in May" Laughing

mcleod-girls · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:54 pm Post subject:

The six hens are getting along fine today, spare cockerel still left on his own a lot. Do they get lonely? Hubby says all he wants is to get his leg over and is not lonely at all! Seems fine though as long as he stays a few feet away, will leave it a few more days, may get some more hens though, little difference in the amount of work for 8 or 18! Very Happy

Are there recommended number ratios fro hen/cockerels?