Introducing new chickens to flock is stressful!

Hey All,
I have a small flock of chickens, 4 hens and a rooster which are just over 2 years old.  The hens are slowing down on egg production so I got a couple new, year old, birds from a neighbor.  The coop and run are 30ft from my living space and I keep a close eye on them.

Things are turbulent.  I introduced the new birds at dusk and the first few days were...ok.  But things got tense and the flock chased the new birds out of the run, I have a 6 ft fence with no covering.  The birds wandered off into the woods and came back at night.  This happened for a few days and one of them didn't come back.  

It's been a week and the remaining bird is having a rough go.    The rooster has been mating with her and will protect her to a point but when the other birds start attacking her he joins in.  So today I had to intervene while all 5 of them were attacking her.  She's beat up and freaked out.  She jumped the fence and is hanging in the woods.

What can I do to help the flock accept this new bird?  

Thanks
Rich

If the second hen does not return, try to find another and keep them both confined in a coop for a few weeks until the rest of the flock are accustomed to seeing them.

We have tried putting the new hens straight into the coop at night and it was not as successful as integrating them slowly.

I would let the new hens out with the rest of the flock under supervision for a couple of hours each day but return them to their coop at the first sign of bullying.

Good luck, hope that they settle in together soon.

Introduction pens do work if you have the space and resources and don't mind setting up extra food and water.  There is always some fighting while they sort out pecking order, but you can minimize it that way.

When you introduce a bird to your flock at night, it's advised to do it in the dark. The less they see, the better they accept. Yeah, it makes roosting  a hassle, but you can put the new bird in an empty spot of the roost and they will wake up together. There will be a fuss, but it's generally less than if the birds see each other before that.

I prefer to use introduction pens. Any structure with some kind of separation works just fine, so if you happen to have a dog crate or something that can work.
I've seen dog crates, wired together pallets, ... if it has spaces and the birds can't fit through it's fine.

It's good that your birds were able to get away from the fuss, but the first bird to escape to the woods is probably gone. You might be able to find the second, but ... good luck.
Introducing birds to an established flock is always a twitchy business. Good luck with your next try.

I would highly suggest getting a few other chickens to introduce along with the hen (assuming the other girl doesn't come back), and preferably from the same flock as the new hen came from originally so they already know each other. You're running into this gang fighting issue because all of the fighting is focused on the one hen, instead of spread out around multiples. Another thing is that it's an established flock on their home turf, so while there's not really anything you can do about it, it may help break down what's going on. Believe it or not, chickens are pretty territorial (at least in my experience regarding introducing new chickens). If you introduce an older hen to a flock of younger chickens on the younger chickens turf, the older hen will most likely back down because the younger ones are way more confidant and she's in their space. If you introduce them in her pen, specifically if there are more older chickens, she will fight back stronger. They are more confidant and assured in their own pen. If you put the new hen in a doggy crate inside the pen for several days to let them adjust to her, it might tone down the actual injuries and help them adjust faster, but you may risk injuries from the cage itself as they attempt to fight through it. On a good note, she is coming back to roost at night, so that's quite the accomplishment! I've had to go through weeks of manually putting new pullets to bed during the introduction period. Maybe try giving them scratch grain and food scraps for a while, if you don't already do that. That way it'll distract the flock in the excitement of the new food, and it won't be in a tight feeder situation that is simply begging for fighting. Fun food that's spread throughout the pen is a great way to help the flock adjust to the new hen without the same focus of her being the only interesting thing in the pen. Bringing it back to my initial thought, I would highly suggest getting more hens to introduce with her, and maybe trim their wings before putting them in so that they can't fly out. It's a nice escape method, but it's just delaying the inevitable fighting and risking her not coming back.
Make sure she has access to food and water, even if that takes adding an extra feeder and waterer for the moment. What breed of older chickens do you have? I know that introduction intensity does vary depending on the aggressiveness of the older chickens. Some introductions are bloody and intense, while others will hardly show sings of flock adjustment.
Just out of curiosity, if your older flock is slowing down, why are you holding on to them? I've experienced hens laying great for four or five years, so it's not that I celebrate constant butchering, but it is a question. If they are being bullies, specifically if they aren't laying, you might want to investigate replacing all of your hens. Then you can avoid the introduction phase altogether.
Good luck with whatever you decide! I know introductions can be super stressful!

I have a large run.  I can put a temporary fence down the middle keeping my old chickens on one side and the new ones on the other.  I would need to build a second coop/nesting box for these new ones.

When I eventually remove the temporary fence, and once everyone is getting along, will the chickens still go to their perspective coops at night, or will they all choose one and pack into the one?

Elena Sparks wrote:I would highly suggest getting a few other chickens to introduce along with the hen (assuming the other girl doesn't come back), and preferably from the same flock as the new hen came from originally so they already know each other.

And Rich is introduced to Chicken Math.  You have 5, get 2 and wind up with 10.

Floyd Pink wrote:I have a large run.  I can put a temporary fence down the middle keeping my old chickens on one side and the new ones on the other.  I would need to build a second coop/nesting box for these new ones.

When I eventually remove the temporary fence, and once everyone is getting along, will the chickens still go to their perspective coops at night, or will they all choose one and pack into the one?

Yes. They will do one or the other or do their own thing.
I think chickens try to be difficult. I'm always surprised when they do what I want them to, even when I set things up so they meet chicken standards and they should be happy.

In my opinion, if you leave the roost/nesting box set up in the run, you have even odds of the new chickens going to roost with the older chickens, or some of the older chickens roosting in the new spot. The only way to make it "better" for them to roost in the old spot (the current roost) is to make the new roost less attractive - smaller and cramped, shorter in height, generally unpleasant for a chicken. They will want to roost somewhere nice, spacious, high and comfortable. Even then, there's chicken mindset to deal with.

I have a lovely roost area that's covered with nice, comfortable roosts and lots of space; the chickens love it enough to start trying to roost early to get a "prime" space. I have some chickens who still prefer roosting in trees, the old coop, and in a pile of shrubbery. They seem to have a need to be contrary.