Introducing a new hen

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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!

Think it through carefully

Just today... I made plans to go away for the day on Tuesday until I remembered oh, the sheep.... Can't leave her out here by herself all day. It's a commitment... and some extra work. I noticed I'm cleaning her sleeping area every night, change her water twice a day, do numerous checks on her, give her oats, her feed, make sure she has straw and hay, keep her clean, run around the yard and clean up poop, etc...

Don't get me wrong, the sheep is lovely.

 

[aart]

It's a commitment... and some extra work. I noticed I'm cleaning her sleeping area every night, change her water twice a day, do numerous checks on her, give her oats, her feed, make sure she has straw and hay, keep her clean, run around the yard and clean up poop, etc...

...and she'll need to be sheared.

 

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... and her hooves trimmed. We're not too worried about that, the person we got her from will come and do that.

 

[aart]

This sheep story reminds me of a dog adoption show I saw.
Young couple had 1 sheep and 4 hens....then adopted a Great Dane puppy.

 

[Nolagurl1956]

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...

So I’ve read your tale and wonder... I’m not getting a lamb although I would love one. I lost a hen about two months ago and when out of town for six weeks. My one hen managed okay in my absence. She didn’t lay a single egg but the neighbor who was caring for her reported she was okay. Another young neighbor friend came over and read to her (how sweet is that).

Anyway I know my Wyandotte is lonely and I spend as much time with her as I can. I was thinking about getting another hen to keep mine company but after reading your story I’m not so sure. The chicken I will be getting is one who recently lost her sister and the owner, an acquaintance wants to rent-home her.

Maybe what I need to keep in mind is the condition to return the hen if is doesn’t work out. My bird is about 19 months old and I think the new one is a little younger. I’m going to have a meet and greet tomorrow.

Stayed tuned.

 

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If I were you, I'd definitely make sure there is a way back, in case it doesn't work out with the new hen. I think some pecking is normal, each time there is a new bird in the coop, they have to establish the pecking order. But, in my case, the new hen was just attacking my old girl constantly.
It's been a few days now, and I think my girl is okay on her own. I actually think she's enjoying life more than when she was with the other hens. She even wanders into the part of the yard where the sheep is grazing. She also follows us everywhere when we're outside. I really think that she's okay on her own. I just worry about wintertime. We live in a very cold area, and she'll be locked up in the coop by herself for months on end.
That is also something you'd need to think about... are you in a real cold climate?

 

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Nearly two months later... I wanted to give an update on the homestead situation, it's been a wild ride!

Our hen is doing great. She follows us everywhere, and goes home to roost at night. The past few days have been quite cold though (below freezing), and she's not liking it much. We decided to leave her in the coop, starting tomorrow. We have heat in the coop and we gave her some hay. I feel sorry for her as she's going to be cooped up for months, but not much we can do to change that.

The sheep... oh boy! In the end, I just couldn't be sure whether the sheep was happy here or not. After doing a lot of reading and researching, it appears that you should never keep a single sheep, as it stresses them out. We decided to board the sheep on the farm where she came from, at least for the winter since we were not equipped to house a sheep. I went to the farm with her when she got picked up. A friend followed us in my car. When we got there, the sheep freaked out. She literally clung to me like a child, and was crying really loud.
She had to be restrained so that I'd be able to walk to my car, because she was trying really hard to go back with me. This is when I realised that she might not have been as unhappy here on her own as I thought.

My husband and I discussed things and decided to bring her back here. We worked like crazy to build a sheep stall and a huge enclosure, all fenced in to keep coyotes out.
While the sheep was back at the farm, she had been with another sheep that bullied her. The farmer separated them, tried yet another sheep, same thing. Separated them again, and the 3rd sheep she was with seemed to work out. So, we decided to get both sheep.

All went well the first day. Starting the second day, the sheep that came with her, and who is twice her size, was starting to bully her - badly. On top of that, the big sheep was kind of nuts, and wild. On the 3rd day, she broke the stall door and jumped over the gate. We couldn't handle her, and we feared for our little sheep. So, back to the farm she went.

Now we just have the little sheep. I do think she misses the company, and hope to find a sheep her size. We go pet her very often, and she likes to be brushed. She cries when we're out of her sight, which makes me think she really needs company from another sheep.

 

[Mrs. K]

Just today... I made plans to go away for the day on Tuesday until I remembered oh, the sheep.... Can't leave her out here by herself all day. It's a commitment... and some extra work. I noticed I'm cleaning her sleeping area every night, change her water twice a day, do numerous checks on her, give her oats, her feed, make sure she has straw and hay, keep her clean, run around the yard and clean up poop, etc...

It is your set up and you can do what you want. But really the sheep does not need the vest, and may suffer if you keep the vest on her. I think you are over doing the kindness, from the best motives, but not the best for the animals. Do not keep the chicken locked in a coop to keep her warm. Both of these animals are wearing coats that as long as they have shelter from the wind, will keep them warm well below zero F. Set up you sheds/coop so that each animal can go in or out of the shelter as they want to, that is best. Lock them in at night, let them out in the morning.

If you are having to clean up the sheep numerous times daily - the animal does not have enough space. Even if you remove the solid manure, the urine will build up. Not good.

Chickens and sheep need to be outside in fresh air. They really do not need 24 hour surveillance or even 12 hour surveillance. You are all going to be prisoners the way you have it set up now. The chicken in the coop, the lamb in a shed, and you tied to the house taking care of them.

If this is what you want to do, that is good, but it is really unnecessary. Even though these are your pets, they are really livestock, that have been bred to spend a lot of time outside on their own.

You refer to bullying - that is almost always a sign of not enough space. If you can make it work like you are, that is compensating for that lack of space, but to be unable to leave for a day would make me quite resentful. Truthfully, I think you are doing way more than you need to, and the animals would be fine without you during the day. Animals need air, sun, water, and feed. Confined animals need manure removal, which you are doing.

My point is, you have turned this into a very high maintenance ordeal. If later on, you think "Ugh!" I think that they will be alright, if you skip a day and give yourself a day out.

Mrs K

 

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Yeah that is the problem I think. Different people tell us different things. The farmer we got the sheep from, all their sheep under 6 months old wear jackets. We live in a super cold area.

I'm not sure about the space and exactly how much we need. We built the stall 8x8, then there is the run, so she can go in and out (except at night when we have to close the stall door to protect her from coyotes). I'm really bad at measurements, so let's say the run is as large as my kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom and spare room combined. When we're around on the weekend, we let her run free.

Cleaning the manure.. haha, I need it badly for the food plots Plus, I don't like seeing it in her stall so I make sure it's cleaned up every day.

 

[aart]

I'm really bad at measurements

Doesn't every household have a tape measure?