I am a new chicken keeper. I've had my four Lakenvelders for about a month, since we moved into our new house. A neighbor brought us a Barred Rock Hen on Sunday (today is Wednesday evening) who was beating up all the other hens and not letting them eat. I let her meet our birds through the fence and it didn't look like it was going to go well. Both parties wanted to fight through the fence. The Lakenvelders have been so peaceful and get along so well, I did not want to end their peace. I once had a friend who had a goose who bonded to her sheep and was very happy to stay with the sheep. So, I made a nest box (dog crate with hay) and a roost in the sheep shelter. She seemed ok with that arrangement for a while. Now, the sheep are stepping on the chicken stuff and breaking it, eating her grain, etc. I moved her (Yoko) (you can guess the names of the four Lakenvelders.) I moved Yoko to an unused sheep pen adjacent to these girls and gave her another nest and roost. I have seen much evidence of her activity in the nest, but here we are on Wednesday and I still have no evidence of egg laying. I put two wooden eggs in the nest today. And, she was in the nest at sunset when I went out to check tonight. I have no idea of her age or previous laying history. Maybe she's just been adjusting and getting into our new routine. I hope she can relax and like living here. I do like having her around. Any thoughts or advice is welcomed. Thanks!
A single hen especially one who doesn't look like the rest, is always going to be odd girl out. I'd try to find her a buddy even if it's another breed so she's not the loner (Lucy perhaps?) . She shouldn't be thinking about laying an egg at dark but I would expect her to be "off" and not lay for as much as a week while she settles in and figures things out. Is there a significant age difference? Has Yoko been with other chickens or has she been on her own? She looks very content with the sheep.
