Hen died

marigold38

In the Brooder
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If anyone happened to read my previous posts .... long story short...we inherited two hens from our neighbors after they were attacked by a raccoon or fox. One was badly injured, and one was barely touched. After the injured one was healed, they were put back together and have been living happily together and have been inseparable. We know all the steps of integrating new hens into a current flock. We tried to introduce them to our existing flock of four and it was an instant fight. Serious enough, that we had to separate them. So, we kept our run split in half and had a separate coop for our rescue hens and our existing hens. They could all see and hear each other but were separate. Well, today the one rescue hen who was barely injured, died. No signs of illness.

My question is, now what? I have the one rescue chicken separate, but it is my understanding that hens need other hens. Is it enough that she can see/hear the other four hens? My heart breaks for her because she was so attached to the hen who died. It is out of the question for us to integrate her with our existing flock. They are pretty aggressive, and she is too. Do I get pullets for her? I don't have a clue. Any help is appreciated.
 
She will be content as long as she's near other chickens. Unless you want to keep two separate flocks, why not just rehome the one hen?

Here's a tip for expanding your flock and not having integration woes. Get baby chicks and set up a brooder in the coop or in the run if it's secure from weather and predators, and brood the chicks in direct proximity to the adult chickens.

As the chicks grow, they and the adults accept one another, and when the chicks are a few weeks old, they can begin to mingle with the adults with appropriate safety measures. By the time the chicks mature, they will have been integrated fully for weeks.
 

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