Introducing chickens in winter?

[filmcmahon]

Hello everyone. We are down to our last hen unfortunately, her best mate just passed last night. They are three years old and her mate had just gone through a huge molt and the heat we have been experiencing just took her last bit of energy, she didn’t make it thru the night.
Anyways, our last hen, Chick (lol) a barred rock, will suffer on her own. I know it. Besides, she needs a flock in the winter to keep her warm, and company since there’s few foraging opportunities that time of year.
Has anyone ever got day olds at the end of summer and successfully transferred then outside at that time of year? I don’t feel very comfortable introducing bigger pullets due to disease etc and we have a very good day old producer in our area. Is this going to be a bad idea? My mother says to wait till spring but I fear Chick will not make it that far and she will have a sad life.
Any advice helps at all. I’m desperate!! Thank you!!

 

[MountainWoman73]

It's not necessarily a terrible idea. Is your coop set up to provide some supplemental heat in the winter if necessary? I hate to have a heat lamp in the coop because they're such a fire hazard, but I have done it for chicks in colder weather before. We just take precautions to make sure it can't be knocked down by a chicken bumping into it, and keep a minimum two feet from all walls and flammable bedding. I usually hang mine 3 or 4 feet high and provide a short roost underneath, so they can get up closer to the heat if they wish, and the lamp stays far away from the straw.

 

[K0k0shka]

You can use a "mama heating pad" instead of a heat lamp (look it up, lots of good info on that here on BYC). It's not a fire hazard and is a lot more practical and natural for the chicks to go under something warm instead of having a light glare down on them 24/7 messing up with their sleep cycle. Your lone hen won't appreciate a lamp being on 24/7 either, it will mess her up too. If your coop is big enough, section off an area and put the heating plate (mama heating pad) there with food and water, and brood the chicks straight in the coop. That way they'll transition more naturally and gradually to the cooling weather, as opposed to spending weeks/months in your house and then being shocked when they go out in the cold and it's winter already. Do it now while it's still warm out. If the hen can see the chicks through the partition, she'll get used to them over time. Being lonely may motivate her to be nice to them and accept them easier than if she already had a flock.

 

[filmcmahon]

It's not necessarily a terrible idea. Is your coop set up to provide some supplemental heat in the winter if necessary? I hate to have a heat lamp in the coop because they're such a fire hazard, but I have done it for chicks in colder weather before. We just take precautions to make sure it can't be knocked down by a chicken bumping into it, and keep a minimum two feet from all walls and flammable bedding. I usually hang mine 3 or 4 feet high and provide a short roost underneath, so they can get up closer to the heat if they wish, and the lamp stays far away from the straw.

thanks for the quick reply!! and yes in the winter we wrap the run in clear plastic to block wind and snow from getting in, and then in the coop (upstairs a little ramp from the run) we have what looks like a tv- it’s a black heating panel that keeps the coop nice and warm. That’s why i am thinking i may as well do it because if worst comes to worst the pullets will have to just hang out in the coop for most of their days until they get their warm feathers or whatever because the panel will provide warmth.