Introducing new chickens to existing ones

[labradors]

We bought a six-pack of RTL Red Sexlinks.

We only had two left from the six that we bought in 2020 (not very good going as they started off so well )
We had hoped to find new homes for these two, but weren't prepared for them to go somewhere shady so we ended up keeping them.

One has looked a mess for months now. She has been pecked, lost a lot of feathers and doesn't lay eggs. The other lays an egg every day, but can be nasty. She pecked the other hens (sometimes badly), presumably because she sensed that they were sick, and they were isolated, but died. We thought these two were getting on ok as the pecked one began to re-grow her feathers.....

The new hens are in the big coop with access to the covered run, but "the two" were relocated to a new, smaller coop with an upstairs and downstairs. They were put in the chicken tractor during the day. However, I think that the heat, and change of circumstances stressed them and caused the bully to peck at the other one.

Any ideas on how to introduce them or whether I should?

Linda

[Killerbunny]

Reds are notorious for being difficult and bullies. I wouldn't try to introduce them especially on the new groups territory. Either keep them separate or cull them.

[labradors]

Ouch! I'm sure you're right. Just don't want to face up to it.

Thanks,
Linda

[Killerbunny]

@labradors it's your decision and always tricky. Try to decide if they are happy or not. I hear you on the shady homes. At least once I very much regretted selling some birds to a person when they would have been better off in the freezer.

[Mrmickey]

Introducing new chickens can be tough, especially when there's a bully in the flock. It sounds like you’ve been doing a good job keeping them separated for now. Gradually introducing them by letting the old and new hens see each other without direct contact is a good start. After a few days, you can try letting them interact in a neutral space where the aggressive hen might feel less territorial. It might also help to give them distractions like hanging veggies or adding new perches to shift the focus away from pecking. Some people find that introducing the hens at night when they’re all roosting helps because they’re calmer. Make sure your setup has enough space and hiding spots for the new hens to escape if things get rough. If the bullying doesn’t stop, you might need to isolate the aggressive hen for a few days to allow the others to establish a new pecking order. It’s a process, but with some patience, they should eventually settle in together.