Adding new chicken results in Chicken EXPLOSION!

[bellydancer]

Apparently during the day yesterday, we had a chicken explosion. I got home, took the dogs out, and was going to then let the chickens out-- BUT, they were all already out! The heavy gallon water dispenser was on its side, empty. The gate was open. The two older chickens were hanging out around the pen, out in the yard, amid a small pile of feathers-- but I couldn't find the new chicken anywhere! Maybe they pecked her to death and hid the evidence (except for some feathers), I was thinking. She had had an altercation with the other two the night before-- and we had finally found her crouched and huddled next to the wall of a building. So, I began to canvass the back yard--- looking under the bushes and behind the potted plants-- anywhere there was a little space a chicken could crawl in to hide. Finally, I found her, at the other side of the yard up next to the fence-- about as far away from the other two-- and majorly out of sight of the other two-- as she could possibly get. She was the devil to heard back into the regular yard area-- she did not want to go near those other two. I could not heard her into the pen. Finally, I just gave up-- locked the other two up in their pen, refilled and uprighted the water dispenser and awaited my husband returning home to try to get her into the coop for the night. By the time my husband showed up it was dark and the new chicken was attempting (with loud clucking) to roost on one of the patio chairs-- these chairs are sort of rockers and she was having a time. By the time my husband got there, she was pretty well tired out from trying to roost on the rocking chairs-- and he just picked her up and carried her over to the coop and tucked her in. She went to sleep in one nest box and the other two went to sleep in the other nest box, together.

Any tips? Are my two Americaunas going to kill the new hen? We only have the one coop and the one tractor pen-- unless the new bird just stays in the yard, we can't really separate them. In the yard, she'd be prey to the occasional (not very often) stray cat and possible hawk.

Any tips appreciated.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Put her in some sort of cage for protection and so the others can see her for a few weeks but not get to her. They prob will kill her if they are after her that badly now. Poor thing

I would remove her asap or get her in a wire cage large enough to add food and water for at least two weeks.

 

[bellydancer]

I can separate the coop from the pen and put her in the pen for a couple of weeks. The other two will have to stay in the coop during the daytime while we're at work. Will that work?

Hopefully they will not have hurt her too badly while I'm at work today.

The new girl actually is BIGGER than the other two, but one of the other two is a big ol' bully and has occasionally feather plucked her sister. This was resolved with more out-time.

If I coop the original two up together, that behavior may resume.

Dratted bully bird!!!

 

[dospuercos]

I bought an inexpensive rabbit cage off of the internet to use when I transport a bird here and there. When I have gotten a new hen, I put her in the coop at night when the chickens are basically walking zombies. Then I get up really early in the morning & put her out in the yard in the rabbit cage. (I let my chickens free-range all over my 3 acres.) I usually have to go out at dusk to figure out where the new hen has roosted, catch her, & put her in the chicken coop. After a few days of this, my chickens have gotten used to her enough to where I can let her out & they all act as if nothing ever changed. They just need to know that she is not going to hurt them. You just need to remember that birds are flock animals & anytime you introduce someone new into their flock, they are going to think that bird, person, whatever is a predator. They even think of you as a part of their flock.

 

[bellydancer]

They are separated, and are free ranging together in the daytime.

I'll try your suggestion of putting her in the coop at night.

Thanks bunches! Great suggestions!

 

[bellydancer]

Ok, they have been separated during the day, free ranging together (as far apart as is chickenly possible though) when we are at home, and roosting together in the coop at night.

When can we put them all together during the day?

The poor new chicken is confined to the coop when we are not at home-- the other two are in the tractor. I feel sorry for the newbie. Wish we could get things back to normal.

 

[ametauss]

I had to pen up my bully.... Is it just the Americauna's?? My bully is also an Americauna.... she even attacks the ducks sometimes....

I just gather her up and I have a 3'x3'x2' hinged top cage that we call "The Box" and I let her know that if she bullies, it's in "The Box" for three or four days....

Then she's okay....

Last time I introduced a few new girls, I locked them in the box for a few days and it seems things go okay...

Gonna eat the bully if she keeps acting out....

 

[dospuercos]

Quote:
I just bought a chicken from a guy who had it for only 2 weeks. He wanted to sell it because it was fighting with one of his others. I put her in with the others in the coop at night & then in the rabbit cage or my chicken run for 2 days. (The others just free-range around my property.) I have had her for about 1 1/2 weeks now & you would think they had all been together forever. They do get to free range on 3 acres so she does have plenty of room to get away if the others decide they don't like her at first. I would put your chickens together when you can watch them for about 20 minutes & see how things go.

 

[Chicken Woman]

Did you say they are sleeping in the nesting boxes ? IM pretty new at this but i was told to not let them do that. I was told if they are doing that to pick them up and put them on a roost so they will sleep there at night. Do your nesting boxes get all poopy ?

I din't mean to change the subject i was just confused by that part of your post.

 

[kinnip]

Funny story

When I wanted to introduce my Marans to the flock, I put them in a nursery coop in separate part of the run. They were eventually allowed into the run and everyone got along fine. When it came time for bed, the alpha male wouldn't let them into the coop. I ended up keeping them in the nursery until I could build a new coop. I had some EEs a while later who had to be introduced at a relatively young age. I used plastic landscape netting to separate part of the coop. I left them in that area with the doors open onto the run during the day, so they could see, but had a barrier. At night, everyone slept peaceably together. After a week, I took down the netting. It's as though they always slept in that coop, no friction.