How to re introduce a chicken back to the flock??

[Nc chickens]

Hi All,

I had one chicken separate for a few days because she was not acting right, she is better so I put her out in the yard with the others. Some of them are being tough on her so she keeps her distance from them. Is there a better way to introduce her or is this how the chicken authority works??

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Eggcessive]

If they have only been away a couple of days, I find they do okay just putting them back in. But if it is not going well, or it has been longer, I would either put her in a dog crate with the chickens, or with 1 friendly hen together in a crate. But actually if you just stay out and watch her for a while, she will probably be just fine after a couple of pecks.

 

[wsufans]

So I'm having a similar issue.

We had a hen badly injured by a dog in December; here's the thread if you're interested:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/841073/hen-has-large-wound-on-her-back#post_12435398

ANYWAY... it hasn't been easy integrating her back in with our other nine hens. There's one really mean Leghorn (the injured bird is one as well)... and there are a couple of other nasty birds in the mix, too. The Barred Rock is the nicest.

I would appreciate... no, I would LOVE any advice anyone might offer; we'd like to re-claim our shop space where we let her rehabilitate but we don't want her picked on relentlessly by the other birds either...

THANKS

 

[Suzie]

I would isolate any aggressive chicken(s) from the main flock for a few days..this gives the re-introduced bird a chance to re-integrate better...

I have used a vinegar and water solution to spray all of my chickens when I have re-introduced one back to the flock... best to do at night ( on a WARM night... ) and put the returned hen back on the roost...by morning they are accepted better than if they are just put out during the day with the main flock.

Good luck!

 

[wsufans]

may I ask the purpose of the vinegar water?

 

[Suzie]

The vinegar in water solution is used to disguise the scent of the chickens....the theory being that if they all smell the same, the re-introduced one is more readily accepted.

 

[wsufans]

WELL HAPPY TO SAY that after putting the bratty ones in quarrantine for about 48 hours and leaving her in with the more docile ones about 3 weeks ago, she's doing super. I really can't believe she survived the whole ordeal..... I'm super thankful to all of you who've helped! (we didn't do the vinegar water because it was SO cold here...)

THANKS AGAIN!

 

[Radseg]

Hi, All. I'm going through reintroduction now. We had to separate one of our 3 hens due to injury--don't know what happened, but she had a small scratch above one eye and a bad limp. She's been in a "luxury" pen in our barn workshop. We 've taken her out of it for dust bathing and some foraging since she's improved (after about a week and a half). Now the tricky part: reintroduction to her sisters. It's been 3wks today. She still has a limp, but not bad. I've been giving her supervised time for 2-3hrs a day for the past 4 days. After day one, I had to buy some Blue Wound Lotion, as they took a couple of nips out of her comb, and drew blood. Ugh. They're still giving pecks, but more superficial. I still supervise them. Yesterday was her best "playdate" with them, foraging a large area around the barn and over to our house. Fingers crossed...

It's very stressful for the hens and us. Hope we won't have to go through this again anytime soon. But I'm still worried about returning her to the coop. She's been in it and then has come back out of it. What's a mother to do...

 

[Radseg]

Oh. I also ordered some Pinless Peepers just in case her sisters get ugly...if I can figure out how to put them on. But I wonder if they'll interfere with their quality of life, as they're free range, except for cooping at night. ?

 

[ThePRfan]

Birds have pecking order.If she's sick,they'll kill her.
When introducing new birds,we simply put food out,(Morning feed),then we put the new birds in,after this,we let the others out.

Introduction at night is good too.Nobody sees the newbie,and it's just as if she was there.

We introduced our birds by free range.We let them out,and feed treats,there then,their focused on the treats,not the bird.
If you interfere with fighting,it just lasts longer.
At the learning center I wrote on the pecking order,if youw ould like,go read it.
Hope I helped!
-ThePRfan