Intro new hen help, plz :)

[4eyesnoheart]

I recently found an injured Bantam OEGB that had been attacked by dogs(neighnor franticlly ringing my doorbell at 7am!). No serious injuries, just missing a lot of feathers. Thanks to the members in the ID forum, we think she's at least a year old. I have 2 hens (1 SLW and 1 ??) And my EE/Austrolorp rooster. They're all about 10 months old.

I've do e a lot of research on Google and here and have been trying to follow along but I feel like all the advice is missing the nuances. My neurodivergent brain feels like I'm missing g something.

I kept her quarantined for 2 weeks and moved her to an enclosure within my run. My flock free ranges during the day. She's been in the run for 4 days and I've let her out into the yard (supervised) a few times. My bottom of pecking order hen(slw) has gone after her a few times and my Roo shows no interest in her.

How long do I wait? How long should she live in her separate enclosure before letting her out with the flock? Should I try letting her out with just the my roo? Will it be a problem that she's a Bantam and my other girls are full size?
She goes nuts trying to get out when my Roo sends the ladies to bed, like she wants to go too. She stays in her little nesting box most of the day. She hasn't laid since she came (I know trauma and stress).

I know a lot of questions and I'm sorry if it's too much at one time. Thanks!

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

I recently found an injured Bantam OEGB that had been attacked by dogs(neighnor franticlly ringing my doorbell at 7am!). No serious injuries, just missing a lot of feathers. Thanks to the members in the ID forum, we think she's at least a year old. I have 2 hens (1 SLW and 1 ??) And my EE/Austrolorp rooster. They're all about 10 months old.

I've do e a lot of research on Google and here and have been trying to follow along but I feel like all the advice is missing the nuances. My neurodivergent brain feels like I'm missing g something.

I kept her quarantined for 2 weeks and moved her to an enclosure within my run. My flock free ranges during the day. She's been in the run for 4 days and I've let her out into the yard (supervised) a few times. My bottom of pecking order hen(slw) has gone after her a few times and my Roo shows no interest in her.

How long do I wait? How long should she live in her separate enclosure before letting her out with the flock? Should I try letting her out with just the my roo? Will it be a problem that she's a Bantam and my other girls are full size?
She goes nuts trying to get out when my Roo sends the ladies to bed, like she wants to go too. She stays in her little nesting box most of the day. She hasn't laid since she came (I know trauma and stress).

I know a lot of questions and I'm sorry if it's too much at one time. Thanks!View attachment 3708151View attachment 3708152

What I do is I keep them in a smaller run (a dog kennel) a bit away from the other chickens, like a "see don't touch" situation.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

How badly is she injured under that bandage or chicken apron?

 

[4eyesnoheart]

Just missing feathers. She was checked over by a vet.

 

[Tonyroo]

Try to avoid putting large size chickens with smaller ones together. It can be very stressful for both group in the coop. It's the little ones that will get hurt if the large ones get aggressive.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Welcome from New Orleans, by the way. Glad to meet you.

 

[aart]

She's been in the run for 4 days and I've let her out into the yard (supervised) a few times.

Keep up the run separation for another couple few weeks.
Single bird integration is the hardest.

My bottom of pecking order hen(slw) has gone after her a few times

Totally normal for the existing low bird to go after a newbie.

and my Roo shows no interest in her.

That's a good sign.
Do the other 2(?) females go after her?
Might try putting one of them into the run with the newbie, see how that goes.

This might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

 

[4eyesnoheart]

Welcome from New Orleans, by the way. Glad to meet you.

Thanks! I'm in Houston now, but from Slidell!

Linda(OEGB) is suprisingly docile with me, but I've read they can be super fiesty. She's also not used to the cats, and doesn't realize if she charges them they'll run away. None have gotten her but have chased and I immediately put her back in her run. The flock gives no f****s about the cats in fact I call 2 of them my "birb herders", they patrol and are very protective of the flock.

 

[Mrs. K]

One of the tricks that I have found very effective is to flip the places. Put the original birds in the small spot, and let the new bird be in the coop/run. Or let the original birds out into the yard, and let the new bird in the run/coop. Feed treats along the fence line both sides. At night, revert to your current set up, with the new bird in the cage.

This lets the new bird explore the run/coop without being chased for her life, it also lets the others see the new bird in the set up. The new bird will gain some territorial rights. Even if you keep the cage inside the coop and run, that is not the same as being able to explore the coop and run. The new bird homes to the cage, not the coop.

After 2-3 days, I would let everyone out in the yard close to dark, and I will bet that they will all go to the coop to sleep.

 

[4eyesnoheart]

One of the tricks that I have found very effective is to flip the places. Put the original birds in the small spot, and let the new bird be in the coop/run. Or let the original birds out into the yard, and let the new bird in the run/coop. Feed treats along the fence line both sides. At night, revert to your current set up, with the new bird in the cage.

This lets the new bird explore the run/coop without being chased for her life, it also lets the others see the new bird in the set up. The new bird will gain some territorial rights. Even if you keep the cage inside the coop and run, that is not the same as being able to explore the coop and run. The new bird homes to the cage, not the coop.

After 2-3 days, I would let everyone out in the yard close to dark, and I will bet that they will all go to the coop to sleep.

I was doing that, letting her explore the run but was worried my other hens would start laying in weird places lol

I will go ahead and start doing this for short periods. Thanks!