Hi everyone. I have read a lot about adding chickens into a flock but couldn't find my specific question addressed. 2 weeks ago one of my hens had a bloody comb so I brought her inside. Her comb has healed so I want to put her back with the flock but, it's winter here. We keep the house very warm. I know how to acclimate to weather but I don't know how long it takes. Today and tomorrow will be in the 40's, 25 overnight, then it will drop to the 20's during the day, teens at night. My plan was/is to put her in the carport with a light for today, take the light away during the day tomorrow, light on for tomorrow night then put her in the coop Monday but I think that might be too fast. If I didn't have dogs inside, she could stay inside until spring but I have Jack Russells and they can't be trusted with chickens. I have to lock them up, let her out, then lock her back up to let them out. She is bored, paces the crate. She needs to be with her flock. I'm sure someone here has had this issue so I would like to know how you handled this. I don't want her to get sick. Thanks in advance!
Hello and Welcome to BYC! Glad to have you join the community! My hen was attacked by a hawk,so I took her in the basement for almost 2 weeks. I wouldn't be worried about the weather (gets cold here to) I would start moving her in to the coop with the rest. Here's an article that I love! https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
In the future, try not to separate the bird. Chickens are flock animals, and being pulled from the flock tends to cause a lot more problems than the one you are fixing. Get some bluekote, paint the bloody spot so that the flock is not attracted to the red, set up some hideouts in your run and keep her with the flock. Because the temperature is the least of your worries. Chickens have a small brain, and the flock is going to think of her as a stranger. So you will be attempting to add a single bird to the flock, and that is one of the worst integrations. Your other birds are going to be very mean to her. You may need to pick a middle of the flock hen, and put her with your house bird for a week, so that you can introduce the pair. You need hide outs, multiple feeders and waterers in your set up until the "new" birds are accepted. As for the temperature, I would not worry about it, I live in the midwest, and we routinely have rather large temperature swings in this region. Two days ago, near 0 during the night, highs of 20 degrees, today the high will be 68 for the next several days. Does not bother the birds at all. The temperature is not your problem, flock integration will be the problem. Mrs K
Well since the original question was concerning the weather and everyone seemed to agree it wasn't a big issue, I decided to put her with the flock since the temps were around 50 degrees. I took out some treats as well, got all involved in getting treats. The hens barely noticed, the rooster tried to get her. I guess she was top hen before and as she chased the rooster around the coop and run, attacking him, I think the hens got the message. It's been 7 hours now, no blood, no chaos except for her nailing that rooster when she sees him. I'm keeping an eye on things in case it changes but so far my girls seem to have defied the norm. I'll be checking on them frequently for the next few days. Thanks everyone for your reassurance concerning my concerns about the weather. Have a great day!
Way to go girl!!! chasing the rooster along the run and attacking him it must have been a sight, it is usually the other way around. It looks like your hen is doing all right with the integration. You never know and like you guessed, she must have been at the top of the pecking order. I have a hen that gets broody almost every month in Spring time. I used to move her into a cool room and into a broody breaker cage and worried about putting her back with the flock every time, however, as soon as she was back in the yard, she starts attacking everybody in sight therefore assuming her place in the flock in 15 minutes.
Yep, it was so funny. It went on through the day, poor Roosevelt rooster, he started avoiding her, lol. I've never seen anything like it! When I went out this morning, everything was just like she never left, all normal. She seems to have laid off Roosevelt which I'm sure he's glad of, lol. I know it probably won't always be this easy, just glad it was and it provided a lot of amusement throughout the day for me and my husband!