Hi BYC,
My aunt and uncle had a chicken named Nalu that was attacked by a fox and needed help. My aunt and Uncle were going on vacation for a week, so we took care of her for them. Nalu was crippled and in pretty bad shape. We slowly nursed her back to (almost) health with a chicken sling, dog crate, ect. (see my thread called "BYC, can you help her???") Nalu was making great progress and could walk by the end of the week. At the end of the week, My aunt and uncle brought her back to their coop and placed her in the hen house. Keep in mind that their coop is 20 years old and was super insecure and rickety. A fisher cat came and wiped out every chicken in my aunt and uncle's coop except one. Dear little Nalu, unable to walk down the ramp because of her still recovering leg, was probably the first to go. All that time, effort, and love we put into Nalu, so close to recovering, was wasted. In one night. Nalu has gone off to that Great Coop in the Sky.
So my question is, what should be done about that lonely remaining hen my aunt and uncle have? I would have offered to let the poor hen into our coop for a while to satisfy her social needs, but she is a standard size hen, while my chickens are bantam. I'm afraid that she would peck our poor bantams to death. What should I do?
My aunt and uncle had a chicken named Nalu that was attacked by a fox and needed help. My aunt and Uncle were going on vacation for a week, so we took care of her for them. Nalu was crippled and in pretty bad shape. We slowly nursed her back to (almost) health with a chicken sling, dog crate, ect. (see my thread called "BYC, can you help her???") Nalu was making great progress and could walk by the end of the week. At the end of the week, My aunt and uncle brought her back to their coop and placed her in the hen house. Keep in mind that their coop is 20 years old and was super insecure and rickety. A fisher cat came and wiped out every chicken in my aunt and uncle's coop except one. Dear little Nalu, unable to walk down the ramp because of her still recovering leg, was probably the first to go. All that time, effort, and love we put into Nalu, so close to recovering, was wasted. In one night. Nalu has gone off to that Great Coop in the Sky.
So my question is, what should be done about that lonely remaining hen my aunt and uncle have? I would have offered to let the poor hen into our coop for a while to satisfy her social needs, but she is a standard size hen, while my chickens are bantam. I'm afraid that she would peck our poor bantams to death. What should I do?
. I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss, that's heartbreaking :'(. I understand how painful it can be to loose a ducky or a chicken. It's awful. Chickens are social animals and I would recommend adopting the remaining lonely hen that your aunt and uncle have if you can, and you shouldn't worry about her and the bantams not getting along because that won't be an issue. I've had hens and bantams before and they got along just fine. That's personally in my experience, but your situation shouldn't be much different. Espeshically if the coop they have now is old and rickety, it's just not safe and she could get attacked very soon. Please adopt her if you can! 
