Integrating 1 hen to mixed age flock

[pony007]

I rescued a hen from a grocery stor parkinglot about a month ago. Shes been in quarenteen, and has remained healthy and bug free, so i want to start the integration process.

The current flock is comprised of 8 Pullets that are around 8 months and, 13 pullets that are 10ish weeks. They are a mix of brahma, cochin, and orpintons, with the 1 barred rock and 1 olive egger. They are all together in a1000ish ft2 run with a 8x12 coop with lots of hidey spots everywhere. I have 4 different food/water stations spaced out in the run.

The recued hen is currently in a 6x8 dog run in the big run. She has a dog crate to roost in at night and to get out of the weather. I think she is either full american game bird or crossed with one. The first week i put her in the dog run she would try and fight through the fence with the other older pullets. She didnt react at all with the younger pullets. Now coming into the second week, she and the older pullets seem fine and dont seem to care about each other anymore. I have not tried putting her in the coop, because she is very scared of people and gets reeeaally stressed out when i catch her. (been working on building some trust with her, but its going very slow.. Getting better tho!)

I would like some advice on how long i should keep her seperate from the flock. A month maybe? Any other tips to try and make this the least stressful on everyone? Id appriciate any and all advice

 

[aart]

Adding a single bird can be tough, sounds like you're off to a good start.
I would try letting her out of her enclosure(is there a door connecting them?),
just in to the larger run (not the coop), and see what happens.

Forgot to add this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

 

[Ridgerunner]

Any other tips to try and make this the least stressful on everyone?

I don't know how to make it less stressful on you, I'll probably make it more stressful for you by the time I'm finished.. You are pretty much doing what you can for the chickens.

I'd also let her in the run during the day and see what happens when you are ready. Do it when you can watch and base what you do on what you see. Of course she'll have access to the coop, but I think what Aart is saying is to not lock her in the coop only with all the others at first. @aart can correct me if I'm wrong.

I'll assume she is a feral hen, not an escaped or abandoned pet from how skittish she is around you. A run that size is probably not covered. A feral mostly game hen can probably fly up 15 feet or more if she wants to roost in a tree. If she wants to she can probably fly over your run fence without trying too hard. The trick is to make it so she doesn't want to. That can be kind of challenging, who knows what is going on in that bird brain of hers. That's not to say he is dumb, it's saying their logic doesn't always work the way yours will.

Is she laying eggs? Hens usually form an attachment to a nest, that may keep her around. Where is she sleeping, in the crate or on top of it? They can become attached to roosting spots too but she is probably used to sleeping in trees. Chickens are flock animals. They can form an attachment to other chickens and want to be around them.

If she were a regular pet hen I'd agree that a week is enough time before you try it. Most of the time it will work, especially with the room you have. With a feral hen I'm not so sure, she may easily fly over your fence and disappear. If your run is covered so she can't escape now is as good a time as any. If it is not I'd wait a little longer before I tried, give her more time to get used to that place and you. How much longer? I don't know, any number I come up with is purely arbitrary. I'd go at least another week, two more might be better.

When you do let her in the run with the others I'd try to give her access to where she has been laying and roosting for another week or so. She may move into the main coop on her own, either to lay or roost, or you may have to move her yourself. I'd want her to show that they can get along with the others before I locked her in the coop overnight with them.

Another alternative is to build her a pen in that coop if you can. Keep her in there for another couple of weeks before you let her out. Let her get used to that coop as home. I think that will make the transition easier for her when you let her loose. That pen does not have to be predator proof since it would be in your coop. It doesn't have to be huge. She certainly will not like being cooped up and that might make it harder for you to try to tame her. There are always trade-offs.

See, I didn't make it any less stressful for you. You never know what is going to happen with living animals. I just think your best chance is to take it slow with her.

Good luck!

 

[aart]

Of course she'll have access to the coop, but I think what Aart is saying is to not lock her in the coop only with all the others at first. @aart can correct me if I'm wrong.

That is correct.
I didn't word it very well, so thanks for the interpretation.

 

[pony007]

I did read that article, though i think my hen will be more difficult since she's afraid of me. But we shall see.

Is she laying eggs? Hens usually form an attachment to a nest, that may keep her around. Where is she sleeping, in the crate or on top of it? They can become attached to roosting spots too but she is probably used to sleeping in trees. Chickens are flock animals. They can form an attachment to other chickens and want to be around them.

She is laying eggs inside the crate and sleeps on a board that is higher up in the pen (the dog pen is covered). She definitely likes to sleep in higher up places, so I'm not sure if she's even going to want to roost in the main coop. The roosts are all lower to the ground, cause my other girls are big and clumsy. Maybe I'll have to put in a higher roost with a ramp for her.

If she were a regular pet hen I'd agree that a week is enough time before you try it. Most of the time it will work, especially with the room you have. With a feral hen I'm not so sure, she may easily fly over your fence and disappear. If your run is covered so she can't escape now is as good a time as any. If it is not I'd wait a little longer before I tried, give her more time to get used to that place and you. How much longer? I don't know, any number I come up with is purely arbitrary. I'd go at least another week, two more might be better.

That's one of my fears is that she'll fly over the fence as its not covered. That being said the fence is 6ft and has hot wire at the top.. Would be quite the shocking experience to fly into it. Would clipping her wings be a valid option?

Another alternative is to build her a pen in that coop if you can. Keep her in there for another couple of weeks before you let her out. Let her get used to that coop as home. I think that will make the transition easier for her when you let her loose. That pen does not have to be predator proof since it would be in your coop. It doesn't have to be huge. She certainly will not like being cooped up and that might make it harder for you to try to tame her. There are always trade-offs.

I just graduated the younger ones out of their little pen that was inside the coop, so I could just put her in that. Its a large metal dog crate, so not a lot of room.

Thank you both for your replies, they are VERY helpful. Gives me some ideas on how to work with her. I think I will keep her in her segregated pen another week or two and get her feeling super comfortable secure in it, so maybe she'll want to stick around like you said.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Maybe I'll have to put in a higher roost with a ramp for her.

If she is a game hen I'd expect her to be able to fly up 15' or more to a barn rafter or tree limb if she wants to. Why do you think she'd need a ramp? How high do you plan to put that roost? Is your coop so tight she can't spread her wings and fly?

There may be something about your coop where a ramp would be necessary but I generally look at ramps as things that cost money for materials, take time to build, and that are tripping hazards or otherwise get in my way. There are coops and circumstances where ramps are a good idea, I don't know what yours looks like or how much that applies to your coop.

If you feel you need a ramp by all means put one in. If you do put a higher one in and no ramp don't be too shocked if you see some of your big clumsy girls up there. They will often surprise you with their abilities.

 

[pony007]

If she is a game hen I'd expect her to be able to fly up 15' or more to a barn rafter or tree limb if she wants to. Why do you think she'd need a ramp? How high do you plan to put that roost? Is your coop so tight she can't spread her wings and fly?

There may be something about your coop where a ramp would be necessary but I generally look at ramps as things that cost money for materials, take time to build, and that are tripping hazards or otherwise get in my way. There are coops and circumstances where ramps are a good idea, I don't know what yours looks like or how much that applies to your coop.

If you feel you need a ramp by all means put one in. If you do put a higher one in and no ramp don't be too shocked if you see some of your big clumsy girls up there. They will often surprise you with their abilities.

The coop is quite open and roomy and i don't doubt that she'll be able to get up there, its my other girls that the ramp would be for. If one of them did manage to get up to the high roost I'd want a safe alternative for them to get down without jumping off. I already had 2 hurt their legs getting down from the current roosts that are really low. Silly birds