Adding to the flock

[Angry Perch]

2 of my 3 chickens got killed by some critter the other day. We'd like to add a couple new ones. i see hens on craigslist quite a bit. Any advise on introducing them? We brought her over to the neighbor to see if she'd get along with their girls, and it was less than pleasant!

[WSU]

I just let them sort it out.  I don't know how else you would do it unless you had a way to separate them but have them still be close enough to get used to each other.  Even then, I imagine they would still sort out the pecking order.

[treeclimber2852]

Put them in the coop at night when the other hen(s) are roosted.  They wake up in the morning and more often than not they don't even think twice about it.  There will be some jostling to get the pecking order sorted out, but that's just how chickens do it. 

[Sandberm]

My neighbor to the south of me has a bunch of free range chickens. One day while i was on my south facing deck i watched a red tailed hawk swoop in and grab one of his chickens and then fly into a tree with it. Pretty wild site. On other occasions i have watched this hawk try his luck without success. There is also(I believe) a coopers hawk, perhaps its a sharp shinned hawk, that hunts the birds in my yard and i often wonder if it hunts the chickens also.

I bring this up because I dont know if he notices this hawk and is thus blaming the half eaten dead chickens on something else, like a coyote, racoon...or my dog 

[jackelope]

Quarantining for 30 days to make sure the new birds are healthy may be a good first step.
Don't just let them in with the existing hen. Keep them separate for a while...ease them into the introduction. Maybe separated by a fence or something for a week or so to where they can see each other but can't get together. They'll still want to squabble a little to establish the "pecking order" but it shouldn't get too intense.

[Birdguy]

We always quarantine for a month, then put the new one(s) in a wire rabbit cage in the house for a few days to let everyone see each other, then late one night go in and put the new one(s) on the roost with the others. It is not fool proof and at times there are still "pecking order" issues but it tends to lessen the severity of the introduction. At times a good mature rooster will also assist in the introduction of new hens.

[Angry Perch]

Put them in the coop at night when the other hen(s) are roosted.  They wake up in the morning and more often than not they don't even think twice about it.  There will be some jostling to get the pecking order sorted out, but that's just how chickens do it.

Picked up the 2 new hens Saturday and did this. Woke up in the morning and it was like they'd been living together forever.