Hi, I had lost a hen for an unknown reason Fine when I put them up for the night and she was weak the next morning and dead by the afternoon. I got a replacement hen ( One that all of my birds except for the rooster used to live with ) and they were rough on her right away, They seemed to have eased up on her but I found her dead tonight they tore her up and I feel bad. The Rooster and the hens were both nasty to her. So my Question is how do I make sure or at least better my chances next time?
tough crowd, eh? Can you put the hen in a smaller space, then add a few chickens w/her, then return all to hen house in a few days at night? Remember, your hens may have died of an infection in your hen house. They will canabalize the dead.
To ad a new hen always put them behind a fence so the other birds can see her, but not touch her. Often it's best to have the new birds in a different coop . Over time introduce them in the yard, sooner or later they should all get along, but it's always best to allow time between birds to get to know each other. Never throw them together right away. I have 2or3 coming in may, they will have there own coop and share part of the pen divided so they can see each other but not harm one another.
I am thinking about putting the chicks when there old enough to go outside in to a fenced off section in the coop, and ill put them in there when the other are out of the coop, Ill then leave them divided for a couple weeks and tehn either let them out of there section while the others are outside or Ill let them out at night, How does that sound?
Seprate her and let them just get used to them, and when they ignore her thats good so then you can introduce her
Do you have enough space for the new girl to get away from everyone else? You're running a fair amount of birds, you may need to look at your space requirements.
I may put a addition on or Build a second coop, They will Free range all day so they only will be inside to sleep.
We added two 7 week olds to a flock. What we did was we propped a board against the fence that only the youngins could fit under. When the big girls would peck at them they could take cover. I also put a separate waterer and feeder out for them so they didn't compete for it. Within a week they were accepted into the coop but didn't sleep with the others. It was warm enough out that they didn't need to be in the coop at the time. But I do keep a run like fort knox so they were safe. Within a couple weeks they all were using the same feeder and waterer. Once they were full grown they were integrated and sleeping with the other hens.
I've introduced new chickens to a flock several times. Here is what has worked for me. I keep the new chickens in a separate pen from the flock - but the two pens share one fenced wall so that they see each other all day long. After a week or two, I open a pop door between the two pens after I let the older ones out to free range. I've found that the new ones like to explore the bigger pen - and vice versa. After another week or two, I close the pop door when all the newcomers are in the big pen. That first night, I wait until the main group has gone to roost. The newcomers are usually huddled on the floor. I pick them up and place them on the roost next to the main group. There will be some pecking and bullying - but so far it hasn't been a big deal. After a few days they have the pecking order worked out. Just be sure to provide places where the newcomers can run to get away from any aggressive chicken. Having extra feeders and waterers is a good idea since chickens don't like to share with newcomers.
Several tricks can work. My preferred when making additions is to reorganize coop area so every body thinks they are in a new location. If working, brief fights between birds that know each other well are likely and this prevents excessive attention directed solely at new comer(s). Sometimes when introducting game pullets to flock of hens for winter I place pullets in a pen within coop housing hens. They can interact through sight and sound but pullets can withdraw when pressed too hard by hens. Following a couple days of such exposure the pullets can be released with hens. Fighting will still occur briefly and usually be oneside in being directed at pullets but hens will not generally pursue pullets to cause real damage. Still supervise.
