I now have a one-chicken 'flock' - when can I introduce my new chicks to her?

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

I had a 3-chicken flock. My BO died earlier tonight

and my EE died in June (both from EYP). Now my BR is going to wake-up tomorrow morning a lone chicken. She stuck to my BO like glue so I know it'll be weird for her to be a single lonely chicken.

I have 3 chicks in the brooder. One is about 4 weeks and 2 are about 3 weeks. I was going to wait until they were about 2 months before making introductions, but I wonder if my BR will be soooo lonely if she has to go a full month in the coop alone.

Thoughts on this?

Should I let her fly solo for awhile?

Introduce the chicks early?

Purchase another adult hen for her?

I'm just sad right now - sad my BO just died and sad that my BR is going to wake-up tomorrow morning without her - and I'm without a plan on what to do....

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

After reading everything I can find on BYC I think introducing an adult hen is out. She'd be in quarantine for a month, so that wouldn't help Maggie (BR) with her loneliness.

Introducing my chicks early is out. I read that they shouldn't be introduced until around 16 weeks. How I'm going to work this is beyond me. They clearly can't live in a brooder that long and I only have one coop and run. I could do the dog crate in the run I suppose, but the run has a dirt floor and I've been letting them free-range for a few hours a day on grass which they really enjoy (under my watchful eye, of course). At night they'd need to go in the coop and I'm not sure how to section a part of that off. I guess I'll need to figure something out though.

This morning Maggie woke up a lone chicken. She's been walking the edge of the run back and forth (like a tiger at a zoo). I guess she's looking for her flockmate (BO) who died last night. I have to hope that Maggie will get used to being a long chicken and will maybe more readily accept my chicks when the time comes. I can't find anything on BYC about introducing three chicks to a single hen so I'll be winging it (no pun intended).

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

If it were me, I'd do the dog crate thing in the run for a couple of weeks and let them get to know each other. Then I'd let them out and see how they do together. At least if they're in the crate, in her run, she won't be alone. The chicks will be fine on the dirt, and you could always pull some grass and weeds and put them in their crate as a treat. Good luck, sorry about your BO and your poor lonely chicken.

 

[Ohylime]

I had some 4-6 week chicks that I had put in a little fence next to my 3 chicken flock. I only had them there during the day. Then on night they escaped and went into the coop. there was 5 of them and they huddle together in the corner. They are silkie and silke mix chicks. My adult chickens (2 rooster - lavender and RIR and 2 hen EE and amberlink) at that time seem to accept them fine. They did chase a little bit but now they are completely fine. The chicks do even better than 2 new pullets I've tried adding my my flock after removing 1 rooster.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

Thanks - we're going to build a cage under our poop board and let the chicks live in the coop for awhile... at least Maggie will be able to see them and hear them and won't be so lonely. This morning (morning #2 as a lone chicken) she is making the LOUDEST ba-gawk nonstop you have ever heard. Even my boys (who are oblivious to this sort of thing) asked what's wrong with her. I assume she's calling for Clementine. At least I know she's a chicken and she'll move on.... and hopefully next week she'll have three annoying little feathered pals to periodically stare at.