I'm a new owner of a he.

[Annalee Robin]

Chickens hate anything new, but they will quickly get over it. Mine freak out any time I introduce something new or heaven forbid, move something old into a new place! When I put fresh pine needles in their run, they freak out for 5 or 10 minutes so bad you'd think they were facing down a predator. Give her time to adjust without seeing the rake - she will come around.

Thank you so much! I feel better.

 

[Annalee Robin]

Welcome to BYC!!!

That is awesome! God bless you!

 

[CannedMonster]

Thank you so much. Quick question- when is a good time to clean her run? While she's up in her coop, or should I let her out of the run before I clean? Thank you again- I feel better already.

Welcome!
You can clean it after you let her out.
She won’t have to feel spooked by the rake that way.
Chickens are birds so they do get scared by things but as others have said they get over it.
My feeder fell off the milk crate it sits on and my rooster carried on like something terrible had happened lol.
I just picked it up and put it back and they started eating the spilled pile of feed.
No worries

I highly recommend finding a good book about raising chickens so you can familiarize yourself with them.
Being on BYC helps too.

 

[drumstick diva]

Remember it was "Chicken Little, " who thought the sky was falling. All her/his descendants are pretty much the same.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

she may be depressed because she has no other flock mates, do you have any pictures of her? she will eat her food off the ground, my hen scratches it out of the feeder so she can pick it off the ground. do you have or can you get a chicken no spill waterer?

 

[ronott1]

It is great having you here!

Like was posted above, get a couple of hens for her. She is lonely by herself

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Chickens hate/fear changes in their routine, and she is probably excessively sensitive because of her history. Use treats, talk softly and move slowly around her - she will regain trust in you.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Hi, my name is Kayla! Welcome to BYC. We’re all so glad you joined the BYC flock!! Your chicken will be just fine.
Happy chickening

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our FUNomenal Flock! I hope you enjoy it here as much as we do!

 

[AgentJeffy]

Hey there, welcome to the coop!

Seems possible that your hen may have been either henpecked by the other chickens or attacked by some sort of animal. Giving her a good feed and somewhere safe at night will go a long way towards winning her trust and getting her comfortable. Happy comfortable chicken = more eggs!

As far as the rake is concerned, the earlier posters are correct. Some chicken breeds are very skiddish and get scared at most everything. But time will show her that she can trust you and that the raking your doing is actually helping her and not hurting her. She will be scared the first times you do it but eventually she'll know what you're doing.

And getting her a friend will definitely help her overall as chickens are very social animals and need friends to flock with.

Congrats on the new addition to your family and feel free to browse the boards, you'll find tons of information and suggestions to make your life (and your hens) easier and of course, MORE EGGS!