Indoor coop recommendations

[CheepPeepers]

No problem. The key is usually to allow the flock time be around her and feed next to her while keeping her safe. I do this with every brood we raise and upon release with the grown ups my yougsters receive minimal punishment.

Pecking orders are established pretty quickly especially if she is small or less aggressive.
Good luck!

Oh this is great to hear. This also explains a lot, as when I was a kid some hand raised chicks were unsuccessfully introduced to the full flock. Id thought it was the fact they were smaller/younger, not that they weren't introduced properly.

Thank you again! I'll see what I can do and try reintroducing her again. She's one of my favorite hens so I really dont want to lose her.

 

[mowin]

I had a BO that got injured. Had her in a separate small pen while she healed. Put her in a grownout pen with her flockmates for a week. The second I let her out with the others, she was attacked. Within minutes, she was bleeding so bad I had to get her out. Run and coop has plenty of room for her to hide and get away, but they would hunt her down.
I ended up making another coop and run and got 4 ,12 week old pullets to keep her company.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Oh this is great to hear. This also explains a lot, as when I was a kid some hand raised chicks were unsuccessfully introduced to the full flock. Id thought it was the fact they were smaller/younger, not that they weren't introduced properly.

Thank you again! I'll see what I can do and try reintroducing her again. She's one of my favorite hens so I really dont want to lose her.

Smaller and younger birds will be low bird in the rankings and take a lot of punishment when trying to be included into a new flock especially if its a "feet to the fire" situation. Some are never fully accepted and live on the outskirts of the chicken "community." These birds are tolerated at a distance and are usually last to feed or drink and hang around but are not fully included with the flocks activities.

Introducing/reintroducing in this protective manner has been very successful for me to get the majority of new birds fully accepted into my free range flock.

Birds separated by only a few days should have no problem. I think she will do well.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I had a BO that got injured. Had her in a separate small pen while she healed. Put her in a grownout pen with her flockmates for a week. The second I let her out with the others, she was attacked. Within minutes, she was bleeding so bad I had to get her out. Run and coop has plenty of room for her to hide and get away, but they would hunt her down.
I ended up making another coop and run and got 4 ,12 week old pullets to keep her company.

I keep my pullets in a coop/run until 5 mos old. We butcher 90% of them at that age. The ones selected to join the adult free range flock have been seen, heard, and fed alongside the edge of the fencing by the adults for 3mos or more.
When they are introduced, i coop them up with the adults for 36hrs to "rehome" them to the new coop. There is squabbling for about an hour maybe. There's been some blood, but when they all emerge together they stay together with a few exceptions over the years.
Im sure breed matters? Personalities? I keep brahmas and don't introduce the youngsters until 5-6mos, or more importantly, when they have reached 2/3s the adult size. Older hens (still under 1.5-2yrs) are also butchered to make room.
Aggressive hens (rare) and roosters are dispatched at my earliest convenience. Perhaps because the age structure of the flock is so young and turnover is high that the levels of aggression have been reduced?
Got me thinking its not just my laid back personality and smooth voice thats keeping these birds calm......

 

[mowin]

I keep my pullets in a coop/run until 5 mos old. We butcher 90% of them at that age. The ones selected to join the adult free range flock have been seen, heard, and fed alongside the edge of the fencing by the adults for 3mos or more.
When they are introduced, i coop them up with the adults for 36hrs to "rehome" them to the new coop. There is squabbling for about an hour maybe. There's been some blood, but when they all emerge together they stay together with a few exceptions over the years.
Im sure breed matters? Personalities? I keep brahmas and don't introduce the youngsters until 5-6mos, or more importantly, when they have reached 2/3s the adult size. Older hens (still under 1.5-2yrs) are also butchered to make room.
Aggressive hens (rare) and roosters are dispatched at my earliest convenience. Perhaps because the age structure of the flock is so young and turnover is high that the levels of aggression have been reduced?
Got me thinking its not just my laid back personality and smooth voice thats keeping these birds calm......

My BO was with the other gals from a day old until she was a little over a yr old when she injured herself. Had her separated, but in sight while healing, than in the grow out in the run for a week. She wasn't a new pullet. Have no clue why her flock wouldn't take her back in. I am fortunate enough to have the room and was able to make a second coop and run for her and a few new flockmates.

 

[NatJ]

If we get her litter trained I dont mind her roaming the house like we've had birds/parrots do in the past

I have never heard of anyone successfully training a chicken to control their poop.
Broody hens often manage to hold it until they get off the nest, but other chickens just don't.

We do have another bantam I might be able to bring in and house with her, (though she's lower in the pecking order than Jafar), and of course my family. We only have 7 chickens, two roosters, one being very aggressive, and they all free range when the weather is nice.

I'm sure she would be less lonely with another chicken to keep her company

But you might be able to re-introduce Jafar to the flock by doing it sort of backwards: add one chicken to her pen, and watch to be sure they do OK. A few days later, after they are getting along well, add one more chicken to their group. Continue adding one chicken at a time until they are all one group again. The difference is that Jafar isn't the newcomer--instead, each other chicken takes a turn being new. If you know their pecking order, put the lowest one in with Jafar first, then the next, and finally the one highest in the pecking order joins them last.

 

[Mtnboomer]

My BO was with the other gals from a day old until she was a little over a yr old when she injured herself. Had her separated, but in sight while healing, than in the grow out in the run for a week. She wasn't a new pullet. Have no clue why her flock wouldn't take her back in. I am fortunate enough to have the room and was able to make a second coop and run for her and a few new flockmates.

Good excuse as any for flock expansion.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I have never heard of anyone successfully training a chicken to control their poop.
Broody hens often manage to hold it until they get off the nest, but other chickens just don't.



I'm sure she would be less lonely with another chicken to keep her company

But you might be able to re-introduce Jafar to the flock by doing it sort of backwards: add one chicken to her pen, and watch to be sure they do OK. A few days later, after they are getting along well, add one more chicken to their group. Continue adding one chicken at a time until they are all one group again. The difference is that Jafar isn't the newcomer--instead, each other chicken takes a turn being new. If you know their pecking order, put the lowest one in with Jafar first, then the next, and finally the one highest in the pecking order joins them last.

This is worth a try. Ive had a friend do it this way with some success. He warned me that this can also throw the pecking order way out of whack making all the birds squabble to reestablish every position.

 

[CheepPeepers]

I have never heard of anyone successfully training a chicken to control their poop.
Broody hens often manage to hold it until they get off the nest, but other chickens just don't.



I'm sure she would be less lonely with another chicken to keep her company

But you might be able to re-introduce Jafar to the flock by doing it sort of backwards: add one chicken to her pen, and watch to be sure they do OK. A few days later, after they are getting along well, add one more chicken to their group. Continue adding one chicken at a time until they are all one group again. The difference is that Jafar isn't the newcomer--instead, each other chicken takes a turn being new. If you know their pecking order, put the lowest one in with Jafar first, then the next, and finally the one highest in the pecking order joins them last.

I actually had accidentally 'litter' trained a chicken in a matter of speaking when I was a kid which Is why I had the idea. She liked being pet so much it must've been seen as a reward, but I'd move her to the grass when she looked like she was gonna poop. From then on she'd get off my lap to go in that area, and then come back to my lap, as well as not going on any sort of surface that wasn't grass like cement or wood.

Its not the same as using a box, but I figure its worth a shot! It seems like people usually use clickers.


Oh thats brilliant! I'll definitely have to try that! Unfortunately I only know the pecking order for 3 of them, but thats a really good idea, thank you!

 

[NatJ]

I actually had accidentally 'litter' trained a chicken in a matter of speaking when I was a kid which Is why I had the idea. She liked being pet so much it must've been seen as a reward, but I'd move her to the grass when she looked like she was gonna poop. From then on she'd get off my lap to go in that area, and then come back to my lap, as well as not going on any sort of surface that wasn't grass like cement or wood.

Its not the same as using a box, but I figure its worth a shot! It seems like people usually use clickers.

Interesting. That's the first I've heard of anyone actually managing it!
Since you've done it before, then I agree it's much more likely that you can manage to do it again