jeepgrrl
Songster
Hi y'all! I need some quick advice. I go back to work on Monday, so I have two days to try and make this work. This evening, I took in my neighbor's 5-6 week old chick, the lone survivor of a two-day predator attack on a flock of six chicks, two ducklings (no door on the coop 
). She apparently has been on her own for 10 days. She had a quickie introduction to the rest of my flock this evening (1-3 years old) and although chick is obviously confused and traumatized, it went pretty well, no serious pecking or aggression towards the chick. Chick seemed like she was doing the right things, e.g., preening, scratching for food, etc. I taught her how to drink from the waterer. She seems OK despite her previous situation. She tried to climb into the nest with my broody hen, which broody didn't want to have anything to do with that. 
Anyway, I know about keeping chick's food separate, places to hide in the coop, etc., so my question is regarding free ranging. My girls have access to 1.5 acres, fenced in, free range from dawn to dusk. Hen yard (50' × 50') is also fenced in. My dilemma is that if I don't open the gate to the pasture, 2 of the hens will just fly over the fence, and the rest will be pissed off because they are confined to the hen yard and not allowed access to the pasture. Will the chick stick close by the older girls if I let them all out into the pasture? Should I leave the gate closed and let the two just fly over the fence (I don't like the idea of having two hens out in the pasture alone - safety in numbers)? My plan is to spend the next two days helping the chick integrate into my existing flock, but come Monday I absolutely have to go to work. I'm going to walk our property tmrw and make sure the fencing is secure, no holes where chick can get out; she managed to escape the pen at her previous home on multiple occasions. Any advice would be most appreciated!!! 
). She apparently has been on her own for 10 days. She had a quickie introduction to the rest of my flock this evening (1-3 years old) and although chick is obviously confused and traumatized, it went pretty well, no serious pecking or aggression towards the chick. Chick seemed like she was doing the right things, e.g., preening, scratching for food, etc. I taught her how to drink from the waterer. She seems OK despite her previous situation. She tried to climb into the nest with my broody hen, which broody didn't want to have anything to do with that. Anyway, I know about keeping chick's food separate, places to hide in the coop, etc., so my question is regarding free ranging. My girls have access to 1.5 acres, fenced in, free range from dawn to dusk. Hen yard (50' × 50') is also fenced in. My dilemma is that if I don't open the gate to the pasture, 2 of the hens will just fly over the fence, and the rest will be pissed off because they are confined to the hen yard and not allowed access to the pasture. Will the chick stick close by the older girls if I let them all out into the pasture? Should I leave the gate closed and let the two just fly over the fence (I don't like the idea of having two hens out in the pasture alone - safety in numbers)? My plan is to spend the next two days helping the chick integrate into my existing flock, but come Monday I absolutely have to go to work. I'm going to walk our property tmrw and make sure the fencing is secure, no holes where chick can get out; she managed to escape the pen at her previous home on multiple occasions. Any advice would be most appreciated!!! 
