chimp 299 Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 got a few hens and introduced a black rock and the first day they gave it a proper beating , i seperated them for a week and introduced the new hen at roost , i have sprayed the hen in that stinking stuff but the other hens are still having a pop ( not as bad mind). do i seperate them again or do i give the spray a few days to work , this time round they havent drawn blood so i presume she doesnt taste quite as nice as before lol Quote Link to post Share on other sites
artic 595 Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 got a few hens and introduced a black rock and the first day they gave it a proper beating , i seperated them for a week and introduced the new hen at roost , i have sprayed the hen in that stinking stuff but the other hens are still having a pop ( not as bad mind). do i seperate them again or do i give the spray a few days to work , this time round they havent drawn blood so i presume she doesnt taste quite as nice as before lol It's called "Pecking Order" happens with most hens that are introdued to a new flock. Spraying in all honesty is a waste of time and money as they will sort each other out in due course. I've had hens here bully for 3 weeks or so... it does eventually stop. And of course there are even deaths from constant pecking. That's just one of many downfalls of being a poultry keeper, expect the unexpected.... What I suggest you do is place another feeder and drinker for the new hen, at least this way she will have a chance to eat and drink. Bullying normally occurs around the feeders. This time of the year with moulting and the cold weather the birds need the best husbandry they can have..i.e worming, spraying for mites (yes even in winter) lice, and the right amount of feed in their crops. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 6,174 Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 I have never been able to introduce newcomers to my small flock: even once the pecking order has been established I've found that the newcome/s are never fully accepted, are thinner, lay less well etc etc. In my experience if you want happy, laying hens, don't introduce newcomers: I've even tried building a new run and putting all the hens there so they are starting from scratch, so to speak. Even so, they remained hostile to the new hens: the only way I've found it to work reasonably successfully is to have a massive run: tennis court size, and to introduce the same number of new hens as already exist in your flock. They simply form two separate groups and stay away from eachother, and I've also had to put several food bowls/feed dispensers around the area so there is always a choice of where to feed. Ditto nesting boxes so that there is never a quarrel over where to lay. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chimp 299 Posted November 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 completly understand the pecking order etc , just wanted to know if i had been doing something wrong , its only been a couple of days and i have 6 more on the way Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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