Hi Guys, I just wanted some advice. I have a flock of 3 Pekin Bantams which are roughly 12 weeks old (1 Chocolate Rooster, 1 Silver Patridge Hen & 1 Lavendar Hen). Sadly the Chocolate Rooster was taken by a fox yesterday and the chickens were sad. I have only had these chickens for 2 weeks so far. My question is: Since I have only had my chickens for 2 weeks and they have settled in & also lost their rooster, would it be hard for me to introduce another Rooster/Hen into the flock or would I need to seperate them to ease them in? Also, what if I were to introduce another 2 so there are 2 newbies and 2 normal chickens? Many thanks!
First of all, i wouldn't just have the one rooster with two hens... not saying that it won't work but it could cause overbreeding which leads to the hens having no feathers on their backs. But this might not be the case. If you were going to introduce hens i would introduce 2 hens, not just one, as they can confide in each other during integration and not get picked on as much! Here's an article about integrating https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
Hmm oh I see thanks for that. Just another question, I am worried that one of my Hen's was attacked during the fox raid. She has a few feathers on her back missing and there are a few of her feathers on the floor from the attack. She isn't showing any signs of being injured but I am just paranoid that WHAT IF she had been bitten or infected from the attack? So far all I know is just the feathers that she lost but is not showing any bare skin from losing feathers as she has fur to protect that. Last question: The person I am planning to get the new chickens from were bought up with my current chickens for 8-10 weeks before I got them. If I buy those particular chickens from him again, would the birds get along as they knew each other?
Part the feathers on her back and take a good look at skin to check for any wounds....and not just her back, but look all over her body. Chicken wounds can be treated much as human wounds. As long as it's clean and no signs of infection, leave it alone. Topical triple anti-biotic(nothing with pain relief, -caine suffix can be toxic to birds) can be used in case of mild infection..deeper puncture infection is different. No, your birds will not remember their hatch mates. Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration This is good place to start reading: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
