Tips for Introducing New Chickens into Your Coop

by | Apr 25, 2025 | Livestock, Poultry

Young hen in a coop. Photo Credit: Kalyn Waters, UF/IFAS

Chicken Math is real! We keep adding new breeds and varieties to our flocks. So, how can we get our chickens to live together in harmony?  Chickens have an established pecking order, a social hierarchy that dictates daily routines and life in the coop. If you don’t take the time to introduce new chickens slowly and properly, your flock can turn on them and even, in some cases, kill the new chickens.

Before considering introducing new chickens to your flock, evaluate your existing flock. Is your flock healthy? Is there plenty of room in your coop to comfortably add more chickens? Is there room to add more roosts comfortably? If you answer yes, then it’s time to add more chickens to your flock.

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Quarantine

Biosecurity is essential when introducing new chickens to your flock. When getting new chickens, you should always quarantine them, keeping them completely separated from your existing flock. It is recommended to quarantine for at least 30 days and observe for any signs of illness or weakness. Chickens can be asymptomatic carriers, which means they can look healthy but still be carriers of the disease that can infect your existing flock. A quarantine period is important to give potential health concerns time to reveal themselves.

 Once quarantine is complete, it is time to introduce the new birds to the flock. The best method is to let the new chickens and the existing flock live side by side for at least a week. Typically, the best way is to put a small cage inside your coop and leave the new chickens inside it. This allows all chickens to get used to each other, be adjacent to each other, and get to know their new coop members. After about 5-7 days of living side by side, you can open the cage door and let them come out as they please.  Once everyone gets along, you can remove the cage inside the coop. Another helpful tip is to add new chickens at night. At night, chickens are calm, less stressed, and roosting.  Adding chickens at night also has less disruption in the pecking order and less fighting.  Don’t add just one chicken to your existing flock. With one chicken added, it becomes a lone chicken without allies to help defend itself. Lone chickens are more vulnerable to bullies.

So, if chicken math has gotten to you, remember to never introduce new chickens into your existing flock without quarantine and controlled introduction. Following these steps, you can create chicken harmony in your coop!

Kalyn Waters
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