Integrating new members of a flock

[moxeeguy]

This is not an issue on my property....we have 20 acres to play with
and the birds have no issues with being "forced" to integrate. The
truth is that poultry pecking and pecking order are 2 separate issues
and most people think they're the same.

New birds in an area get pecked at but always back away. As time
passes they are accepted. The problems arise when an existing group
and a new group are forced to co-exist. This situation is where
problems surface and is ONLY in a confined and limited area. The new
birds having no escape route, simply get pecked into submission or
death. These incidences happen daily to inexperienced poultry
owners. People are ignorant about how to integrate birds. Since most
confine their flocks (not the healthiest choice) the original flock
members are uncomfortable with newcomers. The new birds could
gradually become accepted. Doing a gradual integration inside an
enclosed structure is dicey to say the least. It usually require
several weeks of separation by a wire fence yet being totally visible
to the others in the existing flock inside the coop and hen-house.

My new guineas are always keets who are visible but kept secreted away
by their mothers. They are gradually seen and accepted. Their mothers
having been a part of the original group are accepted. The new birds
find a roosts with their mother at 4 weeks age...but a few yards from
the existing flock. There is 800ft of roosting bars in my henhouse-
shed. Finding an open spot can never be an issue to the birds.
Integration into the flock is always about space and proximity and
acceptance over time...nothing else.