Introducing a new hen

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Well, it turned into a drama The new hen was bullying our old hen BIG time. Even when they were on opposite sides of the run, she'd run to her and peck her. We ended up keeping the new hen in the run and letting the old hen free range. We had to police them during roosting time, let the old hen roost first, and then bring the new hen in. Even in the dark she was still pecking, so we put the new hen in a cage. I left a message on my friend's answering machine to let her know we need to bring her back tonight. Waiting for her to call me back. Then we'll go drop off the new hen. Our old hen will be fine on her own. She follows us like a puppy, and she seems happy with just us.

The sheep seems to be doing better today. We went to the store and bought shampoo for her. We plan on washing her tomorrow.
The old hen even wandered into the part of the yard where the sheep was grazing.

To be continued...

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's hard to say if you hen and this new one could've become friends, as it's only been a few days and I'd expect there to be some pecking order disorder for at least a few weeks, if not more. Since you said you don't want more chickens, as long as you can spend quality time with this last remaining bird I don't see why she can't just be solo... it's the unfortunate reality when you have a social animal but don't plan on getting more.

Think you might need another sheep though!

 

[page3]

oh no, no more The sheep is adjusting nicely, and I think the hen is better off by herself.
She comes running when we call, and she is very much at ease now. We spend as much time with her as we possibly can.
I wish we hadn't gotten the sheep and had thought this through a bit more carefully. One good thing though, the sheep is giving us a fair amount of manure every day. Our food plots will be happy.

 

[LizzzyJo]

This is my new favorite thread! I’ve always wanted sheep. Maybe I will have to get one to keep my seven chickens company. And then I’ll have to get another sheep because they should be in a herd. And then a horse for protection. And then another horse so we can ride together....... you and I were cut from the same cloth

Can you post a pic of the sheep? Is it a mini or full size? Ooooohhh I’m jealous!

 

[page3]

Careful what you wish for

The sheep is actually still a lamb, 4 months old.
Is it possible to upload a picture right from my computer, or do I have to host it somewhere?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is it possible to upload a picture right from my computer, or do I have to host it somewhere?

You can upload here, when you go to post or reply in a thread, towards the upper right of the text box you'll see an image icon next to a smiley face, click it, find the image you want to upload, and it'll attach to your post.

 

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Ok trying.. Here's Susie, the sheep, and Annie, our good old girl

 

[LizzzyJo]

Oooohhhh my goodness. She is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. That’s it. I’m getting some. And the chicken looks happy too! What a cute little farm you have!

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Hello, I have a question

We've had chickens for years, but in the past year, they started to die of old age. We gave them all a proper burial, and now we are down to one old hen. After doing some research, turns out a single hen can get lonely and stressed. We really don't want chickens anymore after this, but we also don't want the poor bird to be lonely, so we decided to get a sheep to keep her company.

That didn't work well. The poor girl was terrified of the sheep, she spent 24 hours in the roosting spot and refused to come down. After a day of this, we separated the sheep from the hen. The hen immediately seemed much more at ease, she came down from the roosting spot and started to wander around the yard again.

Still worried that the hen will be too lonely, we borrowed a hen from a friend. We put the new hen in the coop after dark, and they'll wake up together tomorrow. Hopefully all will go well.

Now my question... We have the coop, and a big run attached to it. Normally, we open the door to the run and the hen can run free all day. At night, she goes back to the coop to roost, and then we close the door. The question is... how long should we keep the run closed? I assume the new hen will need a few days to get used to her surroundings. I'm afraid that if we let her go free too soon, she won't find her way back to the coop.

I'm hoping we won't have to keep the run closed for too long, because our girl loves to walk around in the back yard. Any ideas about a time frame?

Thanks

Aren’t you supposed to quarantine them for a month before you put them together, so your old hen doesn’t get sick from the new one?

 

[page3]

Aren’t you supposed to quarantine them for a month before you put them together, so your old hen doesn’t get sick from the new one?

No need anymore, we took the new hen back to where she came from