Adding a hen to group of chicks?

[okiemomma4]

I just lost 1 of my laying hens and I have 1 laying hen left by herself. Can I add her to my coop with 6 12 week chickens? I hate for her to be by herself.

 

[NatJ]

Can I add her to my coop with 6 12 week chickens?

Maybe. It depends a lot on how the individual hen decides to act.

Has she already been living where she can see and hear the chicks? If yes, I would put her in with them and watch what happens. Be ready to pull her out if it doesn't work, but it might be fine.

If she has no exposure to them yet, I would try to set up a look-no-touch situation: put her in a wire dog crate, or a section of the pen, or some other arrangement so they can see and hear each other but not chase or hurt each other. After a few days, try letting her loose with the chicks.

If letting her loose with them does not work (at any of those points), try the look-no-touch for a few more weeks.

With chicks that are 12 weeks old, they will probably accept that she is dominant over them, but they are getting close to the point where they might try to gang up and bully her. So watch for aggression both directions.

 

[okiemomma4]

Maybe. It depends a lot on how the individual hen decides to act.

Has she already been living where she can see and hear the chicks? If yes, I would put her in with them and watch what happens. Be ready to pull her out if it doesn't work, but it might be fine.

If she has no exposure to them yet, I would try to set up a look-no-touch situation: put her in a wire dog crate, or a section of the pen, or some other arrangement so they can see and hear each other but not chase or hurt each other. After a few days, try letting her loose with the chicks.

If letting her loose with them does not work (at any of those points), try the look-no-touch for a few more weeks.

With chicks that are 12 weeks old, they will probably accept that she is dominant over them, but they are getting close to the point where they might try to gang up and bully her. So watch for aggression both directions.

That’s what I’m afraid of. She hasn’t been around them at all. I’m gone on vacation till next week so I’ll have to wait till I get home and I’ll see about setting up a pen in their run for her so they can start getting used to each other.

 

[NatJ]

That’s what I’m afraid of. She hasn’t been around them at all. I’m gone on vacation till next week so I’ll have to wait till I get home and I’ll see about setting up a pen in their run for her so they can start getting used to each other.

I agree that waiting until you are home makes sense

If the young ones try to bully her, you might try putting her together with half of them instead of all, and then a week or two later combine the groups. That way she wouldn't be so badly outnumbered at first.

But at the age they are now, I think it's likely that she and they will work it out well enough, with her being more dominant but them having the bigger numbers. Of course that's a guess, not a certainty. There are no certainties with chickens.

 

[Mrs. K]

I do agree, wait until you are home. But truthfully, I would expect this to be dust and bluster a couple of times and then just be fine.

A lot depends on your set up, do you have hide outs, multiple feed stations, roosts, and platforms, and mini walls in the run.

The younger birds will be faster, they will be able to get away if there is a place to get away. The old girl will get tired of chasing so many. I would be quite surprised if the young ones bullied her. But I am assuming that you would add your chicks to her coop and run?

Mrs K

 

[okiemomma4]

Thank you all for your responses. My apologies for just now getting back to respond. Some things happened that caused me to not be back on. Once I got back from vacation I built a temp wall with chicken wire and put her down there at roost time. She was doing fine the next day just not happy with being cooped up on one end of the run. By the end of the day the stinker figured out how to get over the wall and migrated in with the babies. There weren't any real issues. She basically took over and they all just stayed out of her way. Now they all pretty much get along, with her still being in charge. My rooster in there LOVES her since she's the only laying hen right now "eye roll" and everyone else runs away from him. Thank you again for your responses helping me to know I was doing right by waiting till I got home.