How to Add Pullets to a Chicken Coop

Using the right technique when introducing pullets to an existing chicken coop is a life and death matter. Chickens have a set pecking order in the hen house and adding new pullets in the mix stirs up friction. The older chickens will attack and often kill new pullets. It is possible to safely introduce new pullets by taking time and following a few basic steps.

Things You'll Need

  • Roll of chicken wire
  • Staple gun
  • Wood staples
  • Nails
  • Hammer
  • Wire
  • Red lights
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Instructions

    • 1

      Build a coop inside the coop. Stretch a length of chicken wire across an end of the chicken coop. Secure the ends of the wire to each wall with a staple gun using enough staples down the length of the wire to prevent the birds from mixing. Add a second row of wire to insure that the wire wall is floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Staple one side of this second strand of wire to the wall and leave the other side unstapled. Nail three nails at evenly spaced intervals down the opposite wall. Use wire to secure the loose side of the chicken wire to the wall. This will allow access to the pullets. Place food and water in with the pullets.

    • 2

      String red Christmas lights around the inside of the coop. According to an article in an issue of "Mother Earth News," Dr. Etheridge of Burlington, North Carolina recommends adding a string of red lights around the coop to prevent pecking among chickens.

    • 3

      Release the pullets in with the rest of the chicken flock after two weeks behind the wire wall. Create a safe zone for the pullets by making a hole in the wire wall just big enough for the pullets to go in and out of. Bend any sharp wires back to protect the birds.