new chicks

[chicken girl]

I have 3 hens they are about 19months  old would I be able to introduce 2 new chicks to them and if so what do I need to do and at what age should the chicks be ? any advice would be great  :)

[chicken girl]

[grannyjanny]

We had 4 bantams, one aged 3 & her 3 children aged were about 19 months. They are rubbish layers so we introduced 2 speckeldy's aged 18 weeks last September. Everything went very well, Mother had a go at one of them but she turned the other cheek ;D. Now 8 months later Mother is still boss but there isn't any trouble at all. I still get very excited when the little ones lay for me, 2 today so a good day.

[goodlife]

Usually when one introduces new chickens into existing flock she would have the new ones roughly about the same size as the the 'old' ones..if they are much smaller bullying can have quite serious consequences..
When you said 2 new chicks..did you mean literally chicks (tiny little ones). Tiny, teeny weeny little chicks would be breakfast for grown up girls... :-\
So if you have 2 new girls..similar size...one would put them in coop near perch late in the evening when it is almost dark..and all the hell will start following morning when they wake up and are surprised about each other.
You should be prepared to have spare feeding and drinking containers as the new girls are propably been chased away until they have established new pecking order.
Usually all fighting will be over within week..but if it does become really bloody you will need to separate them and maybe (if possible) think of some sort of division of the pen until they get used to each other.
It sounds horrid when they squabble..but don't get alarmed unless there is proper feather pulling going on.
I don't want to sound negative..but it is better that you know what might happen...I never had that bad situation with my girls..better to be prepared rather than being surprised and not happy way neither.. ;)

[chicken girl]

Yes I do mean tiny little baby chicks