Found a chicken - how to introduce?

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hoff0079

hoff0079

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jun 30, 2014
7
1
37
This morning we found a chicken in our front yard - and it isn't our chicken. I haven't been able to locate the owner, so have taken the chicken in. I have 6 chickens just over 1 year old. I believe this chicken is around 6 months old and looks different than my existing flock.

I let them all run around the back yard today and my flock didn't seem to bother the new girl, although she kept to herself. However, for the evening my flock has put themselves to bed in the coop, and I put the new girl on the roosting bar in the run and closed them in.

I'm worried that when my flock wakes up in the morning they'll be mean to the new girl. Does anyone have advice for how to handle introducing just 1 new chicken to an existing flock? Any idea how long it will take for them to accept her?

Thank you!!
 


Sounds like they are doing well if they were all together today and they didn't bother each other. I've had pullets come out of my grow out pens that stayed to themselves until they started to lay. Then, they became part of the big girl group.
You can type in the search bar and see what comes up. Many different ways folks do this..but I bet they will be fine in the morning. :)
 
This year seems to have the most stories of chickens showing up in backyards. Probably a lot of them get dumped because the owners don't want them anymore. They somehow think chickens can fend for themselves in a world of predators that" love chickens."

Thank you for taking her in and giving her a home. If you have photos maybe we can identify the breed for you.
welcome-byc.gif
 
The thing is, you should always quarantine before bringing in a new member into the flock to make sure that they don't have an illness that isn't immediately clear. Many people have had their whole flocks wiped out by not waiting out the quarantine.
 
Thank you all so much. You have made some great points and I didn't even think about illness. She seems like such a sweet girl but my girls came vaccinated and I would hate for something to spread. I was also worried because she is a single new chick and couldn't find any threads similar to this situation. I hope the owner comes forward but if not I want everyone to be happy and healthy
 

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