Several weeks ago we rescued a golden laced wyandotte pullet/hen (5 months old) from a bad situation and have slowly tried to integrate her into our existing trio of 10 month old hens. I kept them separated for the first two weeks but in areas very near each other for visibility purposes. I also would allow the trio to range in the yard while the newcomer could explore the main coop/run areas and get as comfortable as possible. For the next week, I divided our main run/coop area into two separate areas with chicken wire so that all four were in the same space just without access to each other. I have added outdoor roosting bars, there are three feed stations, two water stations and other jumping/hideout stations now that I am allowing the four of them to interact. Our boss hen (barred rock) seems to accept the new hen in all areas with the exception of forbidding her entry into the coop at night to roost. The other two I have (RIR's) are the ones that attempt to scare her off of food areas, try to chase her or show off their pecking order hierarchy. It seems that for the most part, the new hen is comfortable, eats and drinks without too much issue but I am concerned about the night time roost situation. I tried the first several nights to just place her in there once the others went to roost. They seemed to allow that but now I have "let them be" and the main hen just will not allow the new hen to enter the coop for roosting regardless of how many times she tries, or even if I intervene. The new one is roosting outside on a wide tree branch ladder I built but it is open to all weather elements. My worry is that when it gets to be much colder, rains, snows, etc... she will not have a sheltered roost to go to.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!