Can one hen live alone (at least for a while)?

[khind]

My very small flock of 2 hen sisters and 1 very sweet & dutiful rooster, whom they both stayed close to and heeded any warnings, was hit by an unknown predator/predators today, leaving 1 hen for sure, although her sister may be in hiding.
Question: If Olga is in fact also dead, or if she dies while she's unprotected wherever she might've run off to hide (which is such a sad thought) while the coop is all closed up to protect Masha who's now in there alone, then how long could Masha live alone? Especially under such sad circumstances? I would have to find someone reputable to get more hens from, which could take a while. Has anyone ever had just one hen - while they had full-time jobs (and therefore would not be spending time with her daily except for a couple hours, and then some time on the weekend)?
thank you

 

[telow6848]

My very small flock of 2 hen sisters and 1 very sweet & dutiful rooster, whom they both stayed close to and heeded any warnings, was hit by an unknown predator/predators today, leaving 1 hen for sure, although her sister may be in hiding.
Question: If Olga is in fact also dead, or if she dies while she's unprotected wherever she might've run off to hide (which is such a sad thought) while the coop is all closed up to protect Masha who's now in there alone, then how long could Masha live alone? Especially under such sad circumstances? I would have to find someone reputable to get more hens from, which could take a while. Has anyone ever had just one hen - while they had full-time jobs (and therefore would not be spending time with her daily except for a couple hours, and then some time on the weekend)?
thank you

That is awful! Hopefully Olga is just hiding away somewhere. Masha should be okay alone for a little bit but you will definitely want to get another chicken for her. You can try putting some bird toys out there for here while you are trying to find her a friend. If you notice she is acting off or not eating/drinking you will want to find another chicken ASAP. Good luck! Keep us posted

 

[Saaniya]

I've seen ppl who having 1 chicken but they only raise 1 ..
If two whose together from childhood separate it would b tough

 

[Pipermom]

We lost one of a pair of hens several months ago (I think it was before Christmas) leaving us with just one. Our lone hen has actually done surprisingly well since then. I am getting ready to put the new flock of chicks outside this week and will probably introduce her to them fairly soon.

 

[khind]

I also spoke with a coworker who said that predators had gotten her chickens, and she's been down to one hen for a month. This is encouraging. However, Masha's feeder appears to have gone untouched after a full day while I was at work. I'm hoping she at least ate a little. I brought her out for the last 1.5 hours to scratch in the grass and dirt and eat some plants, and she finally walked with me around the house (amidst all those rooster feathers... ugh), but I'm sure she's in shock to be alone. And she hungrily ate chicken feed (& a grasshopper) out of my hand, but not the feeder. I hope she perks up soon! I wish it were not the beginning of the week, because then I could at least take lots of weekend time to spend with her and watch her. : /

 

[khind]

That is awful! Hopefully Olga is just hiding away somewhere. Masha should be okay alone for a little bit but you will definitely want to get another chicken for her. You can try putting some bird toys out there for here while you are trying to find her a friend. If you notice she is acting off or not eating/drinking you will want to find another chicken ASAP. Good luck! Keep us posted

Hello - Do you mean literal "bird toys" like hanging things, some that jingle and the like, that people buy for caged birds?

 

[ayamEC]

I’m not sure. I know my chickens could not be by themselves. They are always in pairs and never leave each other’s sides. If your other hen does not come back in a couple days you should definitely get one or two more hens for her.

 

[khind]

Masha ate well today. I brought her outside with me for a couple hours after work again today (day 2 alone). She's used to hanging around with me and the other 2 chickens before this, which is good. I'll put some more things into her run tomorrow a.m. for amusement and buy her a couple safe hanging things for birds after work. I'll also get a harness for her to train her to walk with me. I tried my cats' harnesses but they're too small. I'm looking into another hen or two for her too. Whenever I've introduced new chickens, I've always quarantined them for a quite a while, but that doesn't seem to be feasible this time. I guess it's a pick-your-poison situation now. Hopefully they'll be able to hit it off after a few days with the new chicken or chickens in the adjoining guest coop (there's only wire separating them, so they'll be able to see each other).

 

[khind]

I've got some playpen sand (clean, new in the bag), which I know is not the best kind of sand to keep in a coop, but I'll see if she likes it in a bucket to kick around in. Her coop and run are fairly large, with a dirt floor (with some pine bedding thrown in some areas), and they've always dug places to dust bathe in there, so she'll still have a place to do that too.

 

[telow6848]

Hello - Do you mean literal "bird toys" like hanging things, some that jingle and the like, that people buy for caged birds?

I do. That’s what I buy for them when we separating for breeding because they can’t go outside during that time. Things that are shiny they like the most.