Hello All

[Nursepine]

I have been reading these blogs for since before I got my chickens and have decided I need some assistance in a sad matter. I had 4 chicks that were born May 24th 20017 and they started laying eggs about 2 weeks ago.
Sadly a raccoon got into the coop and killed 3 of them so I have only 1 left, Henrietta is her name. She is content enough and still laying eggs after this terrible ordeal she has been through.
We have resolved the coop problem and my question is should I get her a friend? If so where do I get a chicken about her size or age? She is a Buff Orpington and sooooo friendly and loves to come say hello every morning, all the girls did.
So can you tell me what is the best to do. If I get a fertilized egg is her sitting on it enough for it to stay warm and hatch or should I get her a friend her own age and size or can she stay happy by herself.
Thanks for all you help.
Suzanne

 

[BarbHicken17]

I have been reading these blogs for since before I got my chickens and have decided I need some assistance in a sad matter. I had 4 chicks that were born May 24th 20017 and they started laying eggs about 2 weeks ago.
Sadly a raccoon got into the coop and killed 3 of them so I have only 1 left, Henrietta is her name. She is content enough and still laying eggs after this terrible ordeal she has been through.
We have resolved the coop problem and my question is should I get her a friend? If so where do I get a chicken about her size or age? She is a Buff Orpington and sooooo friendly and loves to come say hello every morning, all the girls did.
So can you tell me what is the best to do. If I get a fertilized egg is her sitting on it enough for it to stay warm and hatch or should I get her a friend her own age and size or can she stay happy by herself.
Thanks for all you help.
Suzanne

I am so sorry for your loss! You should totally get her a friend! No one likes to be lonely!
And welcome to BYC

 

[aart]

Sorry for your loss and Welcome to BYC.

A fertilized egg won't do any good if she's not already broody.

Adding more birds can be tricky and much needs to be taken into consideration.
Another bird or two her age might work best,
but first figure out how you will integrate the new birds.

Knowing your location will help,
(you can put it in your profile, then it's always there!).
Also the size of your coop and run in feet by feet with pics will allow us to help you set up a good integration scenario.

Meanwhile here's some integration tips.
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

This used to be a better search, new format has reduced it's efficacy, but still:
Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading, BUT some info is outdated IMO:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi Suzanne and welcome to BYC. You already have some excellent advice from aart.

As a general introduction, here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224

If you have not already done so, including your general location, under your avatar will help other members to give the best advice possible, as suggested by aart.

All the best

Pork Pie