Adding a single hen UPDATE: finally doing better!

[chookchick]

I have had the best luck by keeping them in side by side pens for 3-4 weeks, so they are constantly seeing each other. Then allowing them "supervised" visitation until I can trust them together. It sounds like you have worked out a system that may eventually get them all together, good luck and keep us posted on her integration!

 

[Sunflower01]

Just had a similar experiance trying to introduce two Gold Laced Polish hens with my six Bovan Hens. Not going well.. The Bovan hens peck and peck at the Polish. So looks like we will be dividing the Hen house and Run down the middle. So every one is happy and protected. We bought the Polish and did not do enough research on them.. They are the most sweet wonderful birds but very shy and will not fight back. Definately too sweet to get rid of but Not a good choice to integrate with existing flock. Anyone else out there with Polish hens??

 

[NellaBean]

Well its only been a couple days but I am seeing some positive things. I actually saw her eating out of THEIR feeder today right next to one of the white leghorn girls (she is right around the middle of the pecking order) and there was no squabbling. They all chase her intermittently, but nothing too bad. She just runs off and then loops back around when they quit.

I have noticed that she has gotten much more attached to THEM lately. She used to follow me all over the yard when I had her out....now she just goes over and hangs out by their coop. Which is good....after all she IS a chicken

Because of the extreme heat and humidity I just let them all out to free range together when I get home after work or in the case of the weekend all day. They do tend to stay in certain groups. The cochins stay together, the other 6 stay together and this lone girl is somewhere nearby. The cochins are the bottom of the pecking order (by far) and are some of the meanest to this lone girl. It's like they are so thrilled to finally have SOMEBODY lower than them that they get a little overexuberant about it.

I did get the new pen finished to where I can actually USE it starting tomorrow/monday. The fencing is up, just need to fasten the gates and cover a few holes in the corners and they should be good to go. It is 16x24 for now (will eventually be split into two 8x24 pens) and is right next to the existing 8x8 coop and a NEW 8x8 pen that is 'tacked on' to the existing coop. I plan on trying them all together in the big 16x24, but if that does not work, I will be putting the lone girl either in the 8x8 with the young kids or in the 8x8 next to it, either by herself or with a buddy or two. At least she won't have to stay in her little tractor all by herself on the other side of the property anymore.

I did get the sign today that my lone girl (Stew, Stewie, Stewrella, Stewrooskie, etc) wants to be part of the big group permanently. She went missing for quite some time today when I was mowing. I had everybody out loose in the yard and it was super hot and everyone else was in the big planter either dustbathing or picking for bugs or just laying around. She was nowhere to be found. Eventually I found her in the coop where she had just laid an egg in the big nesting box unit. She is ALWAYS in her tractor during egg time, and so usually just lays it on the ground in a little hole she digs or in the box I have out there. Today she ran over to the coop I had left the door open on.....and got in and into the nesting box that the leghorn girl uses to lay her egg. It just seemed like a sign that she is ready to be part of the group.

We'll see how tomorrow goes!

 

[cmom]

It's a good sign that she is laying in the nest boxes. I had a pullet that went through a very similar situation. One of the bully hens would stand in the pop door and not let this pullet into the coop. I finally put a second pop door in the coop and she started sliding in and laying eggs in one of the lower nest boxes. Soon I will have more pullets to integrate. I will be building a new coop so I am going to put the pullets in the new coop for awhile before I let the hens in.

 

[NellaBean]

Well, things seem to be going okay. I actually have her out in the same coop and pen with the big group today.....since they moved into their new huge run (16x24 with an extra little 8x8 section coming off one side). It is full of shin high grass and weeds and bugs and good stuff and connected to the 8x8 coop, so everyone is distracted and she can always go into the coop and up on the roosts if need be. She had stayed in the coop (had to lay her egg) as of the last time I was out there, and was in there with a couple of the cochins and one leghorn and there were no problems at all. The rooster was giving her a hard time earlier, but nothing too dangerous.....more seemed like him starting to feel the hormones than anything else.

I can't imagine doing this in a small space. I think if I was trying to integrate her back in that same small 8x8 pen, it would have never worked out. According to the whole 10 sq ft per chicken outside space, I could have 45 chickens in this new run. 10 seems to be a great fit and I plan on allowing the other 7 to add to this group eventually, although that will then also include the current 8x8 run.

Being able to free range them in the yard together was a huge help to allow them to "be together" without being STUCK together. Sometimes she would have to run 30 or 40 feet to get one of the other off her tailfeathers, but she had more than enough space to do so. They still will come after her and peck her in the head, but it looks like regular pecking order stuff, and then new run is big enough to allow her room to run off.

She did get to meet her prospective boyfriends yesterday. She was the most interested in the new young chickens (who moved into their old pen) than the other ones. She is the red squatter (haha). She may have just been thrilled at the idea of someone LOWER than her on the pecking order.

And she did get to finally start hanging out closer with these guys the last couple days. (she is the red girl in the middle)

I do have to say that my little divider in the coop last night FAILED and all 7 of the younguns (12 week olds) got loose with this older group. No problem quarantine wise as I have had them in my brooder shed for 12 weeks, and got them as couple day olds from a local feed store, shipped from a hatchery. But they were supposed to be separated from each other by a divider in the coop and it failed so they all mingled for the first hour or two of daylight. When I went to open the coop, this lone girl was sitting up on a roost with two of the younguns next to her. It was pretty funny. Everyone was getting along surprisingly well.

 

[NellaBean]

Today was the first full day alone in the big coop. I threw them all out there this morning at 6:30 am and left my lone girl in the coop (but with the pop door open). When I got home and out to check on them just after 6:00 pm, they were all out and about in the yard area of their pen. I threw some chicken pieces in there (hahaha) and they were all running and flapping and stealing them away from each other, my lone girl included. She was right up there with them eating right next to them and stealing their food and chasing them around to try to steal more.

They were getting along GREAT!

I had two eggs in the nest box, so I know she (and the other laying girl) went in the coop and then came back out. I worried about her just hiding in the coop all day, but I guess the green grass and fresh air was too much for her.

She was really one of the crowd today, it was awesome

 

[chookchick]

It is so rewarding when they finally start to act like a flock, isn't it!

 

[NellaBean]

Well, the girl has been as integrated as can be with her new 'crew'. She still is the bottom of the pecking order and not quite buddy buddy with anybody, but they are all in the same pen and can hang out together.


Dust bathing with her new buddies (she is the only red girl - in the middle)

Just one of the girls hanging out and drooling over the Giant Rooster.

Hanging out with the girls again.

Happy Camper!

 

[NellaBean]

This is an old post but I wanted to bring it back up to update that now....2 years later....Stew is the HEAD hen of the flock.

Now she gets to beat up all the new kids.

 

[KrisRose]

lol and is that the giant rooster behind her? She is queen of the flock and got the man! Go Stew!!