ooops i've done it again.....more chickens...

catewithers

Hi Phil,

I don't know the answer to that I'm afraid. But I can't see it being a problem? Surely they'd just mainly ignore each other?

Hopefully someone more learned in the area of chickens and guinea pigs will be along shortly!

Big_Bird_4

The people who sell the Eglu chicken houses have a resident chicken expert who you can email if you have this sort of question. I've asked her many silly questions in my time and got sensible replies very quickly. The link is here: http://www.omlet.co.uk/misc/ask_an_expert.php

Phil3822

Thanks all so far, have just e mailed the above so hope to get a postive answer.

poohbear59

Still no eggs, I have ordered some paste eggs on the internet so hope to have some eggs next week.
Someone asked about introducing new hens. We have done this a few times in the past and have made an old rabbit hutch available for hens who are too frightened of the big bullies to go into the hen house. We then ended up with all the new hens in the rabbit hutch and two old hens in beautiful spacious hen house. I think I will just put them all in together and see what happens. I have been told to wait until dark to introduce new hens. Has anyone else heard that? Anyway no hurry just yet as still waiting to hear the pullets are ready.

catewithers

I understand the best thing to do when introducing new hens is to keep them separated from the existing group but in sight and sound of each other for about a week. Then to introduce them at bedtime because poultry are very docile and shut down completely at night.

But to make sure you're around to referee in the morning.

poohbear59

catewithers wrote: »

I understand the best thing to do when introducing new hens is to keep them separated from the existing group but in sight and sound of each other for about a week. Then to introduce them at bedtime because poultry are very docile and shut down completely at night.

But to make sure you're around to referee in the morning.

Thanks for that advice. I will definitely give it a try. Do you think it would be cruel to keep new hens in house/hutch without use of run for a week as we don't have any other means of keeping them seperate?

catewithers

poohbear59 wrote: »

Thanks for that advice. I will definitely give it a try. Do you think it would be cruel to keep new hens in house/hutch without use of run for a week as we don't have any other means of keeping them seperate?

No good asking me!! I'm such a softy, our four now have the run of half of the garden!!!! I'd feel so awful at keeping them cooped up, I wouldn't be able to deal with the guilt and would be out there at midnight finishing the run! :rolleyes: Seriously, I guess it depends how big the hutch/house is and how many hens you've got in it. Chickens don't deal well with overcrowding and may start pecking each other and feather pulling. It seems that once they get into the habit of feather pulling, it's quite difficult to stop them.

Apparently you should keep them contained to the house for the first 24 hours anyway as this ensures that they are imprinted on that place as home and so will return there to roost every night. Having said that, we did that with ours and I still have to go out there every night and put them all to bed!! :rolleyes: Chuffin' chickens!

catewithers

Phil3822 wrote: »

Thanks all so far, have just e mailed the above so hope to get a postive answer.

Phil, any news from the Eglu bod about guinea pig friendships?!

poohbear59

My present hens are all ex battery hens and when I introduced them to the old brood they decided the rabbit hutch was the best option. I presume they were accustomed to being squashed together. It took months to pursuade them that the hen house was home, so I think I might have to put them all in the hen house together at night and hope. I am around all day so I can referee if necessary. We still haven't heard when the new hens will be ready and I am quite determined that this time I will get the introductions right, if that is possible.
By the way the rabbit hutch and run are quite large, our hens have the run of our gardens and the fields and gardens all around us. It is chicken heaven here, so much so that we aquired quite a few hens from our neighbour (about 1/4 mile away) about five years ago because we feed ours and word soon gets around among our feathered friends!

just-saving

Hi to all - both oldies and newbies.

Not been online for a while but just caught up with the thread again. Great news at long last PP, I loved reading your thread and the photos of the chicks were adorable.

Henrietta is now also laying with her very first egg appearing last Tuesday 19th June - she had a mad few days trying to work out what was going on and was trying to get through the windows into the house for a while. At long last she has settled down and is disappearing mid morning to lay. However, on the 21st we didnt get an egg from Pru and found her sitting on Henriettas egg. This thankfully only lasted the one day and she is laying again. But, now Dorothy has stopped laying. We havent had an egg from her for about four days now. She only managed to sit on eggs for about half an hour on the first day she didnt lay and we swiftly removed the eggs from beneath her after she didnt come back out of the coop. Her comb seemed to turn pale but is now reddening up again. She had a couple of days of just wanting to settle on a garden chair and couldnt even find it in herself to come and say hello when I went out to them, but today she seems more herself and joined the other two and flew from the end of the garden to welcome me when I went outside this afternoon. Maybe she just wanted a rest from laying, especially when every five days she pops out a double yolker thats so big it must make her eyes water.
Anyway, I'll let you know what happens. TTFN