Introducing a single hen into flock?

[chickengoesmeow]

One of my friends recently lost all but one hen in a raccoon attack. It was injured, but she has spent the last month nursing it back to health. Her coop and run were pretty much destroyed in the attack, and this was her first batch so it hit her really hard. She didn't want any more chickens but also couldn't keep this one by herself, so I offered to take her in.

She's a 9 month old RIR and she seems pretty healthy. She went to the vet once after the attack and she was marked all clear so I'm not super worried about diseases.

Right now I have 25 chickens, 3 of which are roosters (even though one is only 12 weeks old so he doesn't really count). All my chickens get along pretty well but they are aggressive. I don't know why they are so aggressive but I swear these are the meanest chickens I have ever met. They have a tendency to violently attack chickens they don't like and regularly rip each others feathers off over the smallest things. They are all equally mean, so there aren't chickens getting bullied or anything, and I don't typically stress about it. But this hen comes from a smaller, all hen flock that never had many pecking order disputes.

They have a 800 sq ft run and a 100 sq foot coop. I have a 2'x4' indoor brooder area inside the coop and a 4'x8' outdoor brooder area attached. None of the other chickens can get in and there is a nesting box and roost in it. I was planning on leaving her in there for a couple weeks and then starting small supervised intermingling, but I don't know if that would work for a strange, fully grown hen.

I don't really have any experience introducing new hens into a flock. I've introduced batches of chicks and I've reintroduced chickens who were sick/injured/broody but I've never introduced new adult birds. I'm getting her tomorrow morning and I was just wondering if anyone has any tips or experience they can share

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The coop may be a bit small for 25 chickens. That's probably why you are seeing some aggression. Some breeds do better with less square footage than others. It all depends on the flock and the dynamics.

I personally would pen the new hen in the separate area and plan to leave her there for at least a month, and maybe two so they forget she's a stranger, and not a part of the flock. Than try the supervised mingling. I've integrated roosters this way without any fighting when released.

 

[chickengoesmeow]

The coop may be a bit small for 25 chickens. That's probably why you are seeing some aggression. Some breeds do better with less square footage than others. It all depends on the flock and the dynamics.

I personally would pen the new hen in the separate area and plan to leave her there for at least a month, and maybe two so they forget she's a stranger, and not a part of the flock. Than try the supervised mingling. I've integrated roosters this way without any fighting when released.

The aggression predates having 25 chickens, they were acting this way when it was only 6 of them in the coop. They don't really go into the coop besides laying and sleeping (half their run is roofed and I keep food/water outside) but I could probably look into extending it another 50 sq feet or something.

Would she start getting lonely if I left her in there for 1-2 months even if she can see and hear the other chickens?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The aggression predates having 25 chickens, they were acting this way when it was only 6 of them in the coop. They don't really go into the coop besides laying and sleeping (half their run is roofed and I keep food/water outside) but I could probably look into extending it another 50 sq feet or something.

Would she start getting lonely if I left her in there for 1-2 months even if she can see and hear the other chickens?

A few years back I had a very skittish bottom hen, a salmon faverolle. She started freaking out more, which caused other birds to start to target her more. I ended up putting her a separation pen I had in the shed. She was in there for 2 months. Birds come by, she interacted through the fence. She seemed better. Eventually I let her out, and everything was fine.

It all depends on the hen. Personally I wouldn't push it. You can do supervised mingling sooner and see how it goes. She's going to be a target of all 25 birds. They can and do work out a pecking order through a fence, at least from my experiences.

Do you have any roosters? Sometimes they can help if they take a liking to the new girl.

 

[Mrs. K]

Pick a middle of the flock hen. Go away from the flock and throw down a treat. You don't want the first hens, and you don't want the last hens, you need a hen in the middle.

Take that hen, and put her in with the new hen. Might be a dust up or two, but generally one on one will settle fairly quickly. If it is terrible, well leave her in the pen for a week or so, so she has territorial rights, and try with another hen. Bluster is fine, a few feathers is fine, blood, or cowering in the corner is not. But now you are not adding a single bird, now you have a pair.

Wait a week. Then let the others out side of the run, and let the pair into the run all by themselves. I let the rest in as near to dark as I can. If there is a small group, and you have space, I have even gone so far as to add a pair to this pair, then add the four to the flock. Your call.

What does your run look like? With that space, you could have a lot of clutter and should - roosts, benches, platforms, mini walls, this might help your other birds get along too. It allows birds to get away from each other and out of sight. Some people just have a 2 dimensional run where birds can see all of the other birds 100% of the time. Add in branches, boxes, small pieces of plywood. Then you can hide some feed bowls around the run, so that a bird eating at one place can' see other birds eating at other places.

Mrs K

 

[chickengoesmeow]

A few years back I had a very skittish bottom hen, a salmon faverolle. She started freaking out more, which caused other birds to start to target her more. I ended up putting her a separation pen I had in the shed. She was in there for 2 months. Birds come by, she interacted through the fence. She seemed better. Eventually I let her out, and everything was fine.

It all depends on the hen. Personally I wouldn't push it. You can do supervised mingling sooner and see how it goes. She's going to be a target of all 25 birds. They can and do work out a pecking order through a fence, at least from my experiences.

Do you have any roosters? Sometimes they can help if they take a liking to the new girl.

She was separated from them today and seemed pretty interested in the new flock. She was watching them through the wire and doing the pecking order stare and everything. My roosters have historically proved useless when it comes to hen drama, or hens in general actually. She seems open to socialization and none of the other chickens are harassing her through the fence, so I might start letting her out supervised in 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[chickengoesmeow]

Pick a middle of the flock hen. Go away from the flock and throw down a treat. You don't want the first hens, and you don't want the last hens, you need a hen in the middle.

Take that hen, and put her in with the new hen. Might be a dust up or two, but generally one on one will settle fairly quickly. If it is terrible, well leave her in the pen for a week or so, so she has territorial rights, and try with another hen. Bluster is fine, a few feathers is fine, blood, or cowering in the corner is not. But now you are not adding a single bird, now you have a pair.

Wait a week. Then let the others out side of the run, and let the pair into the run all by themselves. I let the rest in as near to dark as I can. If there is a small group, and you have space, I have even gone so far as to add a pair to this pair, then add the four to the flock. Your call.

What does your run look like? With that space, you could have a lot of clutter and should - roosts, benches, platforms, mini walls, this might help your other birds get along too. It allows birds to get away from each other and out of sight. Some people just have a 2 dimensional run where birds can see all of the other birds 100% of the time. Add in branches, boxes, small pieces of plywood. Then you can hide some feed bowls around the run, so that a bird eating at one place can' see other birds eating at other places.

Mrs K

I have a ton of clutter inside my run, but I feel like it would put her at a disadvantage more than anything. About 2/3 of the run is filled with roosts, platforms, old furniture, etc. while the middle third is empty and has their dust bathing area and such. There are 3 waterers and 2 feeders spread out but I could probably add more.

All of the other chickens are used to the environment and can get from A to B quickly, but this hen was from a little pre fab coop in a backyard that was just grass. I'm kinda worried that she'll get chased and not know how to get to a safe area or find a hiding space.

 

[Mrs. K]

That is why I suggested just putting her and one other bird in there alone. Let your established flock out of the run, this will let her explore the run without being chased. Find some hideouts, find the food and water.

Mrs K

 

[AinaWGSD]

How did the integration go?