Will Gladys Be Lonely?

[Cooks44]

Hi, we are relatively new backyard chicken parents. We got two chicks last summer (Wellsummer named Gladys and Buff Orpington named Mabel). They have been doing great; started laying in February/March and recently (2 weeks ago) moved in to a spacious custom coop that we built for them. Mabel (the buff) was the "alpha" hen - vey large, beautiful, and a prolific egg layer (consistently 6/week). We are so sad to say that she died suddenly this morning; she bounded out of the coop this morning as usual, ate, drank, and played around, and then sat down for about 45 minutes and did not move much, and then just died. We are heartbroken. We are just now learning about sudden chicken death syndrome. Now, we are concerned for Gladys (well summer). They have been together since they were baby chicks (9 months ago), and now Gladys is all alone. We won't be able to care for new chicks again until late August, and then it will be at least 4-5 months till they can be introduced to the coop outside. Will it be ok for Gladys to be alone for that long? Is it possible or even a good idea to find/purchase an adult hen as a companion? Sorry, if these are stupid questions, but we are new to all this and still reeling from our loss this morning.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Sorry for your loss.

Curious as to why you can't care for new chicks for most of the summer, but are able to care for Gladys? Space issue? Job needs? something else? (long delayed vacation, neighbor has agreed to watch one bird, not raise many???)

Also curious as to why you believe it would be January before you can introduce new chicks to the outside, if you don't purchase till August?

Finally, where are you (roughly)? That might help answer some of those queries above.

 

[Cooks44]

Sorry for your loss.

Curious as to why you can't care for new chicks for most of the summer, but are able to care for Gladys? Space issue? Job needs? something else? (long delayed vacation, neighbor has agreed to watch one bird, not raise many???)

Also curious as to why you believe it would be January before you can introduce new chicks to the outside, if you don't purchase till August?

Finally, where are you (roughly)? That might help answer some of those queries above.

Thank you so much for your reply. We will be going out of town for 7-10 days in June and
early August, and just don't feel comfortable leaving small chicks on their own for extended periods. We did leave Gladys and Mabel home while we went out of town for a week this Spring, but we had a local girl (The Critter Sitter), come by early in the morning to open the coop to the run, and again in evening to close them in the coop, and feed, clean coop, and water, with each visit. We will have her back again to care for Gladys when we leave this summer. Again, we are new to this, but we just feel like we need to keep a closer eye on chicks like we did when Gladys and Mabel were young, then just two visits a day while we are gone.
We got Gladys and Mabel last August. We kept them in a large bin in the house with a heat lamp and eventually moved them into a larger enclosure in a garage, but did not move them to an outside coop until mid-late December, based on the recommendations in a number of "chicken raising" books we read. I think most recommended moving outside at 4 months. I figured we would do the same with our next ones. Again, newbies here, so if you have other recommendations, I am happy to hear them.
Finally, we are in Southern California. Mild winter, and we have not hit our high heat months yet.
Also, if you have any thoughts about our poor Mabel's sudden death, we would appreciate hearing them. She seemed very health and vibrant up until an hour before she suddenly died. She did not lay an egg yesterday, but that did not seem strange, as she had laid for 6 days straight and was due for a day off.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm new to this myself, only at it a year (chicken math!) and in North Florida - also mild climate. Suspected you might have a trip planned, and commend you for delaying a new bird purchase until you can provide them sufficient attention.

I'm able to fully integrate my hatchlings, typically, by seven weeks to fully outside living, including free ranging with the adult flock throughout the day. They can be out as soon as they are fully feathered, sooner in mild weather. I've ducks who have been enjoying the outside for hours, beginning just before three weeks, and have four hatchlings outside right now (in the shade, out of the wind) at just five days - though its 84 degrees right now.

No clues on sudden chicken death, its not something I've seen in my flock, and has too many potential causes. I'm going to assume you offer a balanced diet of a commercial feed appropriate to chickens, and haven't used any strong pesticides where they could come in contact with it, poisons/bait traps, and haven't offered too many treats (fatty liver disease can have pretty sudden onset to outward appearances, since some it other indicators may not be noticed as they occur slowly over time - pale comb, weight gain, reduction in egg production - and can have perfectly mundane explanations). I've you have been offering a handful of black oil sunflower seeds or mealworms daily, that's a practice you should stop - treats should not exceed 10% of food intake by weight, and less is best.

So.... here's my suggestion.

Most reputable places will only sell birds in quantity (4 or 6 minimum, most often). See if a you and a neighbor can't split an order for delivery in late July, with them raising the birds together, till you get back from your trip. You take your bird/birds off their hands when you get back, pay them something (a bag of feed) for taking care of your feather friend while you were away, and then start the see/be seen process with the new bird(s) and Gladys. Your aim is to have them staying together and able to get along by seven or eight weeks of age - the end of September. That's about all I can offer to minimize alone time for your remaining bird.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is it possible or even a good idea to find/purchase an adult hen as a companion?

In your situation this would be my suggestion. Maybe post on this thread and chat with your neighbors. You should have time to integrate before your trip.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/california-southern.161/page-686

In your case I'd avoid chicks. You want to be very sure it is a female, not a male. Young chicks might allow a mistake to be made in sex. There may be issues in purchasing a very small number of chicks but somehow you managed to get two. These can probably be overcome but the big issue to me is the age differences. I have my chicks roaming outside where the adults are at 5 weeks, that part can be done if you put your brooder where the adult can see the chicks from Day 1. But until my chicks reach a certain level of maturity they avoid the adults. That level is usually when the pullets start laying.

It is bad chicken etiquette for younger chickens to invade the personal space of a mature chicken. If they do, they are likely to get pecked for their lack of manners. It usually doesn't take long for them to learn to avoid the adults during the day. Mine don't sleep on the roosts anywhere near the adults at night until they mature. I don't know how much room you have, with just two chickens it might not be much. Integration in general can take a bit more room but integrating immature birds with adults usually takes even more.

If you have the room I'd suggest you get two more hens, not just one. That will avoid this problem if another dies. They'd still have a buddy. Any time you deal with living animals you risk dealing with dead animals. That's not just chickens, that's dog, cats, goldfish, and any other animal.

It is hard to say why that hen died. To me it sounds like a stroke or heart attack. It does not mean you did anything wrong. Some are hatched with birth defects that don't cause any problems until it does. That can be kind of sudden. I had one that I think broke her neck when she panicked and tried to escape. There was probably nothing really wrong, she was just startled and hit something.

 

[saysfaa]

Sorry for your loss. And sorry to have nothing to add about what happened to Mabel.

No, not okay for a hen to be alone that long. I would either rehome Gladys now (actually, I would disappear her another way but I'm assuming that isn't an option) and start again when you can. Or get another hen (or well grown pullet) or (preferably) 2 more if you can give them more than the minimum space at least until they know each other.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you can give Gladys extra attention until new birds come along, no reason why she won't be ok in the meantime (if realistically you don't have that time to devote to her, then rehoming may be a better option).

As far as adding new chicks - assuming you go with chicks - I'd get at least 2 in case something happens to one, and given that you live in a warm/mild climate, you should look into the possibility of brooding outdoors. I integrate very early: chicks are outside as soon as I get them, start coming out of the brooder by 2 weeks old, and fully move in with adults around 4 weeks. So if you do it that way she'll have flockmates much sooner than later.

If chicks feel like too much hassle, then yes you can go with an adult or two as companions, but there's more biosecurity risk with adding older birds vs newly hatched chicks. So if you aren't going to be able to do a strict medical quarantine, make sure to pick birds that look healthy and that come from clean facilities.

 

[orloffer]

I am so sorry for your loss, Cooks44. I hope you are able to find a solution that works well for both you and Gladys.

Funny...I've always wanted to have two chickens named Gladys and Mabel.

 

[Buzzard Hill Chickens]

I think your best bet is to find another chicken mate for Gladys. A gentle, docile breed such as another Buff Orp or maybe a barred rock should work out fine. As long as your birds don't have to fight for space or food, they should do OK together after a short get-to-know period.

By the way, in my first flock I had a barred rock named Gladys, after my grandmother. Gladys was my "lap chicken" and couldn't wait to jump into your lap each afternoon. In my current flock, I have a Maybell, who is a Black Copper Maran cross. She's a peach.

Good luck.

 

[topochico225]

Poor Mabel, poor Gladys, poor you!

I had a pullet drop dead suddenly in January of fatty liver disease. My article on her is linked in my signature (Keyword: In Moderation) if you want to take a look at that and see if any behaviors/symptoms match up.

I'm so sorry for your loss!