New to this chicken thing - i adopted an old lady a few weeks ago - she was being bullied by the flock - i've had her checked out and shes healthy - not exactly sure how old she is though. Anyways i think that she is loanly and want to get her some chums but not sure the best way to go about it. She is a Lavender Pekin Bantam. Ive been told by breaders in the UK that its not a good idea but you guys seem to have other views, would it be a good idea for me to wait untill she get broody and give her some eggs to hatch etc? Any advise welcome from feathered friends accross the pond. Thanks
if you plan to get her some friends please quarentine them for a few weeks to make sure they are not sick. BTW welcome to BYC
Whenever I have put new chickens together, and it usually is mixing younger ones with the older ones, I try to baffle them by putting a bunch in at once so they can't so quickly pick on one particular one. It has worked for me.
I had a hen who was left alone after the remainder of her flock died of old age, and I did decide to take the route of having her hatch out her own eggs. I'm not familiar with your bird's breed; some are much easier to coax into broodiness than others. All I had to do with my Dorothy (a New Hampshire Red) was to replace the egg she layed each day with a fake one until she had several in the nest and she was spending more and more time sitting. Then I got some fertilized eggs and swapped them with the wooden eggs. 21 days later, I had 5 fuzzy babies! The only drawback of this method is you won't know how many roos you'll end up with - I got lucky and only got one. You can also merge her with other birds her own size. You do need to quarantine any new adult birds you bring onto your property, however. They will fight as they establish the new pecking order, and that can be difficult to watch, but try not to interfere unless there is serious damage being done. Interference by humans seems to make the process longer, in my opinion. Have fun with your new girl. What is her name?
Chickens are social creatures, I'd get her 2 or three buddies, but it would probably be best if they were the same size or smaller than Dora. Good Luck!
Hi ukdora You will get lots of good advice on this site. We are almost neighbours - only about 80 miles apart - I am in the midlands. Did you feel the lincolnshire earthquake? It woke us.