Intro the house chicken to the flock!

[farmkat55]

So...hubby rescued a lone Rhode Island Red chicken baby last Fall in a ditch near our house. Absolutely NO idea where she came from as we are the only ones around with chickens and there were no other chickens, baby or adult, to be found near the ditch. It was getting cold as we live in South Dakota, she was very small (fit in hubby's hand), she was very friendly and we knew we had a house chicken for the winter! She could never get big enough or acclimated to the coming winter temps in time to be out with the rest. She has grown and is now laying an egg everyday and hubby has taken her out as often as he could, when the temps go up, to be in a separate pen near the other 4 hens and rooster. At first, she was a bit taken aback...LOL...but now they seem ok to be near each other. We want to add her to the flock when she can be outside continually as Spring advances and temps are good. She is very vocal with us and travels all around the house when out of her inside pen. So, I joke that when she is outside she just may come up to the deck back door to alert us that there are CHICKENS out there! Makes me laugh as I'm not sure she knows she actually IS a chicken!

So....I'm thinking we would let her be outside with them in her own pen for a bit, then loose in the yard for a bit...and watch the interaction. But, she is still a bit smaller than the others. A grown chicken but smaller. I know it's said to intro them by putting them on a roost at night with the others, but I worry if anything would happen at night in there we wouldn't know till morning! Our sweet rooster seems to pay more attention to her now and the hens seem to pretty much ignore her. I'm not sure if that means he is looking at her as a new 'girl" for him or if he is being protective of his other girls...any ideas on that? So, what is the consensus on the best way to integrate her when it warms up? Thanks in advance!

 

[chrissynemetz]

If she's laying eggs she's old enough to be outside already. What are the temperatures there?
How big is your coop and run? More space and extra feed and water stations helps.
We would love to see pictures of her if you have any.

 

[farmkat55]

I know she is old enough to be outside, but she is acclimated to indoor temps that are regulated. We are in the 20-30s at night and 30-40s in the day right now....but we have had a mild winter so now the temp is up to 53 today!! It just fluctuates. We still have our heated outside waterers on for the chickens, goats, horses, and dogs. Plus, she can't go outside till we can have her be able to go inside the coop at night with the others. The coop is 4x8 and the attached covered run is 8x16. I will have to get some better pics, I only some of her and the cats in the kitchen playing with the cat's automatic laser toy and it's not a good angle!

 

[aart]

Sounds like you've made a good start integrating her.
Any chance you can have a little night time coop for her out there in her pen?
Have you free ranged her with the others yet?

 

[farmkat55]

Well, her pen in the house has a little nest box but there is really no place to put her for the night out in the big run. Have to build her another smaller coop so I'm hoping to just integrate her like we've been doing. She has not free ranged with them yet, have not been able to be out there before now as I had my 6-month-old grandson to watch daily. But now I don't so we will be trying the free-ranging thing asap. C'mon warmer temps!!!

 

[Mrs. K]

Instead of putting one hen in with 4-5 birds, pretty much a recipe for a thumping to the newbie, try a one on one. Pick a single bird, middle of the bunch if you can do so, and put her and the newbie together in a separate pen from the others. They will scuffle it out, but it will be a one on one ration, not a 5:1.

The other trick that has worked well with me, is lock the others outside of the coop/run for a day, with the new one lock inside the coop/run. This allows her to explore the new area without being chased for her life. Then let the old birds in as close to dark as you can. The urge to roost will be nearly as strong as the urge to fight.

Mrs K - a fellow South Dakotan, and they say Saturday will be 71!

 

[farmkat55]

Yeah, I was thinking we would at least do the intro in the yard to free-range with just one on one. It sounds like a good idea to do with the coop/run for a day, too! Thanks for the tips! Us over here East River are only going to 65 on Sat but that's still a heatwave for sure!!