Introduce New Chickens to Your Flock Without Ruffling Feathers

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Introducing chickens to a new flock can feel like an awkward family reunion. The integration process will include awkward stare-downs and squabbles among the pecking order. It may even feel like the chicken sequel of Mean Girls! However, it is possible to introduce new additions to your current flock with patience and time. As you begin introducing new birds, here are some tips for successfully integrating chickens to a new flock. 

New Pecking Order

Introducing new chickens into your older flock disrupts the established pecking order.  Pecking order is the social hierarchy of existing flock members. The more assertive birds are higher ranking in the pecking order. They get first dibs at the food bowl, the best roosting bars, and their choice of the best forage. If you keep multiple roosters, they establish their pecking order outside of the hens. The highest-ranking roosters get their choice of hens for mating.

The birds at the bottom of the pecking order get whatever is left over. The rest of the flock knows their place in between.  As long as everyone minds their place in the pecking order, the flock gets along peacefully. 

Once established, the pecking order does change over time. The older hens will lose their ranking as young birds challenge the pecking order. The chickens will flare the feathers on their neck, making themselves look larger and more intimidating. They will fight by pecking, chasing, flapping their wings, and jumping at each other with their claws. The battle will continue until one of the birds backs down. The bird who surrenders secured their place lower in the pecking order. The battles can be fierce, especially among adult roosters, some fighting to the death, both unwilling to back down. 

Recently, I witnessed two roosters fighting it out as top chicken. It was a rainy, cold day and these roosters fought until both were soaking wet and exhausted. No matter what I did to intervene, they would just go back at it when I left. When they finally relented I found the rooster who gave in drenched outside, trying to find a place to warm up. I herded him into the coop where I found the top rooster had taken his place roosting warmly on a roosting bar. I understood then why I had found the other outside.  The triumphant rooster had made it clear, the coop was his spot to recover and the other would find another place. 

Steps to Integrating New Birds into the Flock

Adding new flock members to an established flock is possible, but it takes time and patience. Be prepared that despite your best efforts, there will be squabbling in the hen house. The birds will experience higher stress levels and your egg production may dip as they work through the flock integration. Provide the chickens with plenty of space or allow them to free range during the process to work out their new pecking order.

Quarentine New Members

The first step to integrating new chickens into your existing flock is to quarantine your new feathered friends from your existing flock. While it’s not necessary to quarantine new baby chicks that you hatch from eggs raised on your farm, it’s best practice to quarantine any birds purchased elsewhere.  A 30-day quarantine period is best to ensure that the new birds don’t have any health issues that might affect your own flock.

The Gradual Introduction

I like to introduce new birds to my flock through a gradual introduction. Once the young chicks are off heat, I put the younger birds in a separate pen inside the chicken coop or yard. A large dog crate works well for this, or a tall puppy yard playpen. The younger birds need a safe place where the mature birds can see them, but not have access to hurt them. If the play yard is secure from predators, the younger birds can be kept in this separate pen until you’re ready for the next step of the integration process. If it’s not secure, I return the young birds to the brooder at night to ensure they are safe from predators. 

Another option that I like is to use chicken wire to build a temporary pen inside the chicken coop. Since my chicken coop is a secure place, creating a separate pen inside the coop, allows me to move the young birds into the coop full-time without having to move the young birds twice a day. I allow the birds a couple of weeks to get accustomed to each other in this first step of the integration. 

Tips for Successful Integration

Once you have introduced the newcomers to the existing flock through separation consider these best practices before you take the final steps to fully integrating your young chickens.

Safety in Numbers

Never introduce just one chicken to your existing flock. Introducing just one bird to the flock would make it extremely vulnerable. Chickens can be vicious, killing outsiders and birds they consider weak. It’s best to add young pullets to their new home in groups of at least three. More is better. 

Last year I introduced five groups of young chickens to my flock. I had one group with only two chicks hatched in the incubator. Rather than integrate those two young pullets into the main coop, I first integrated them into a group of younger chicks. While they were two weeks older than the chicks I integrated them with, the younger chicks had the numbers to make this transition successful. By creating a larger group of young chicks to integrate into the main flock, I set them up for success.

Consider the Age of Your Birds

If introducing younger chickens to your existing flock you will want to wait until they are at least 8 to 12 weeks in age for the final integration step. While the size of the new hens will vary by breed, you want them to be large enough to fend for themselves through the integration period. 

​Evening Introduction

Many chicken keepers like to integrate their flocks at night.  Birds will be less likely to fight when they are going to roost.  Simply slip the new birds into the roosting box at night after everyone has gone to bed. If you are removing any of the older hens, this is the time to do it. They will be easy to catch and the disruption in the pecking order of the older hens will help the young birds transition.

Plenty of Room

Once you are ready to take the final integration step, ensure the entire flock has plenty of space. There will be squabbling in those first days of full integration as the birds work out their new pecking order.  Make sure the chickens have enough space to escape and even hide if they need to. Provide extra feeders and waterers for a few weeks to allow the young hens to eat without bullying. 

Keep a close eye on your younger hens watching for injuries. An injured chicken can be especially vulnerable. Chickens will peck an injured bird to death. If this happens, I separate the injured birds in a dog crate. Keep the crate in the chicken area until they are well enough to try again. You want to maintain that this bird is part of the flock, but it’s safe while it recovers.

The Key to Successfully Integrating Chickens

The most important thing you can do to integrate your young chickens into an existing flock is don’t rush the process. It is extra work to have to move chickens multiple times a day or manage additional feeders, but the slow transition will make the transition into the rest of your flock so much easier.