New hen with my 8 week olds?

[herwitsend]

I have a new 1 year old white leghorn. She is not going to do well in my current flock. We have tried a bit of trial mingling and she is getting the crap beat out of her by the other hens. They are merciless, even with me standing with them.

My question is, would it be wise to let her stay in the other run with our seven week old chicks (17 of them)?

 

[Panth]

I would try it and see what happens. I've seen tons of posts on here about people who put their "underdog" hens in the "baby" coop and everyone seems to do really really well with it.

 

[BlueCamas]

I would try it out. Keep an eye on them though, sometimes underdogs can be nasty to younger chicks. It's like they are so tired at being at the bottom that they can't help beating up on another chicken if they can get away with it.

 

[herwitsend]

I put her in with the littles and it has worked out great! She finally laid an egg today! She was so stressed out before and now she seems right at home. Thanks for encouraging me to try it!

 

[Panth]

That's great to hear! That should work out really well for you in the long run - You just gave her a different flock that she obviously feels comfortable with. When the babies get ready to be loose with the adults, I bet you will find that she has moved up in the pecking order.