Both yesterday and today I gave the new girls an hour with the main flock. It went about the same both days. Snow, Gold, Silver, Storm and Red took no notice of the new girls.
As I expected it was bottom girl Cloud that was first to kick off. Cloud and Maple went at each other with ruffs raised until Cloud chased Maple away. Next it was Ginger who chased both Maple and Popcorn and grabbed their feathers at the back of their neck. Mango briefly chased the new girls but not to the extent of Cloud and Ginger.
The new girls retreated to the top of the ladder and stayed there. At this point I decided it was pointless to carry on as they were not mixing anyway so I returned both lots to their own sides.
While the girls were mixed I moved the new girls’ dishes to the chickens’ patio area otherwise I knew pellets would get flicked out into the dirt and dirt would get scratched into the water. The main flock saw these new dishes as far superior to their own of course.
On the second day I had planned to put Cloud and Ginger on the new girls side so the new girls could have a more peaceful time mixing with the rest of the flock but as soon as I opened the gate the main flock rushed in. I decided to leave them all together and try this plan the next day.
It started off the same with the main flock not seeming to notice the new girls. As soon as Cloud and Ginger noticed them though they chased them until they retreated to the top of the ladder again.
Tomorrow I will try again with my plan to put Cloud and Ginger on the new girls side. I will choose my moment and be a bit more careful when I open the gate. It is early days yet and they have plenty of time to get used to each other.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
You’re right – it is early days and not bad progress so far. The main thing is that the new girls have found a retreat in going to the ladder, which seems to be a really good barrier. As always, it is the lowest-ranking girls who cause the biggest problems. Pecking order!!
Luckily none of the other girls bother them on the ladder. I know it’s always the lowest in the pecking order that’s the problem because they are determined to move up if they can.