Help! Introducing 2 new 3 mo old hens to 1 5 mo old hen

[bandya804]

This past weekend we lost one of our 2 hens to the neighbors dog

We live in a pretty urban area and these are our first girls, we were all very upset as we see them as our friends.
The girl that survived is a leghorn, 5 mo old, and she was best friends with the other girl. They were raised together from 1 week old and never left each other's side.

After we lost her, the girl that is left kept pacing around restlessly in her coop, and we decided she needed some friends for social structure. So we went and got 2 hens yesterday (I can see how easy it will be to get more and more!). They are about 3-4 mo old best I can tell, I wanted them to be a little younger/smaller than her.

They didn't seem to be pecking too much so we left them together last night, hoping the overnight slip-in would work. Today, our 5 mo old girl is acting very territorial, staying in the top where she roosts and not letting the babies get up there. Do you think this will just take time? For now I am just putting food and water in both areas. I don't know how much chickens can remember, she also laid her first egg the same day she lost her friend

 

[Happy Chooks]

If there isn't severe pecking, I'd just let them sort it out. She's just trying to tell them that she's in charge. I'm so sorry that you lost one of your girls.

 

[bandya804]

Thanks for the quick reply!
This afternoon she caught the smaller baby and jumped on her, so I decided to seperate them for a bit, I have the 2 babies in my house in a box now. I think I'll put them back in overnight and try and watch them again tomorrow. Thankfully I work from home so I can keep an eye on them throughout the day!