old hens with new pullets?

Question
Hello,
I currently have four laying hens and would
like to some day add a few more hens to my
flock. I know that there will be a lot of
fighting to establish the pecking order and
I was wondering in your opinion what is the
best way to introduce new hens to the resident,
old hens? I heard somewhere that you can place the
new hens in with the old hens in the coop at night
and at morning the old hens will accept them as
their flock, is this true?
Thank you,
Susan.

Answer
ok, lets say you get 6 more hens...and add them to your 4. the six new ones may take over and be mean to your other hens.
when i get new birds, i keep them in a cage close to the ones i already have. that way they have a chance to meet eachother without fighting. and they stay in the cage at nite in the coop as well.
just ploping them in will cause problems. putting them in at nite can also cause problems...if you have a light or window in the coop where light comes in early (chickens are awake way before the sun is even up!) they will go after the newbies and will hurt them more because they don't have anywhere to run too, and will get stuck in a corrner and the other hens will croud them and peck. so the best idea is to use a cage for a few days (keep the cage outside of the run) then, move the cage inside the run, for a few more days. after that they should be ok enough to be let out with the 4 you have. yes there will be some fighting, but hens fights are pretty quick. just keep an eye on them when you first let the new ones out with the others.