introducing chicks to one Hen

[Jsnick]

I have one Polish hen that is a year old and she has been alone for 3 months due to the other hens attacking her. I rehomed them to a farm. I have 3 chicks about 8 weeks old now and I have been letting them see each other when they were young thru the run when they were about 3 weeks old as weather permitted. I did a week with young chicks in the back of the run fenced off so my Polish Tina Turner can get more used to them. The second week I left a small opening for the chicks to explore but have somewhere safe to go back to. Tina did not like that and went after them and pecked out a few feathers. I also tried to let them free range together and that went bad too, she went after the young polish, and I had to intervene. So I am back to the see no touch again. Should I wait until the young chicks are bigger? Just wondering if I am going about this the right way. Also concerned that Tina has been alone for so long and picked up some bad habitsShe also needed to heal before I could bring in new chicks.

 

[aart]

Are the chicks in this 'protected' section of run 24/7?
They should be as just 'weather permitting' time slots is probably not enough exposure.
Posting pics, and dimensions, of the set up would help here.

 

[Jsnick]

Are the chicks in this 'protected' section of run 24/7?
They should be as just 'weather permitting' time slots is probably not enough exposure.
Posting pics, and dimensions, of the set up would help here.

The chicks are in the run all day with the hen in a 3x4 area and she has the rest of the run aprox 4x10 at night I bring them in. The coop cant hold a crate, my crate is to big and a small one would be to tight for them. I have been keeping them with her everyday for a week and a half.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

After the initial shock, lone birds, especially lone hens tend to take chicks under their wing and soon watch over and guard them. I've even had cockerels adopt baby chicks after living alone for a while. Chickens love friends.
The best is to give them plenty of space.

 

[NatJ]

The chicks are in the run all day with the hen in a 3x4 area and she has the rest of the run aprox 4x10 at night I bring them in. The coop cant hold a crate, my crate is to big and a small one would be to tight for them. I have been keeping them with her everyday for a week and a half.

Since you have 3 chicks and only one hen, you might put the hen in the small area and let the chicks have the large part of the run. At night, maybe put the hen in a crate in the coop, if you can find a crate that will fit in the coop and be big enough for one of her.

This might help in several ways:
--more space for the chicks, since there are more of them
--chicks get comfortable in the space
--hen gets used to seeing the chicks in the space (I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not, but it certainly doesn't hurt.)

I don't know how long to do that, but I woud say at least a few days, so the chicks become good at finding the food and water and moving around in the space.

It's not a total fix, just a detail that might make things a little easier.

 

[Jsnick]

Since you have 3 chicks and only one hen, you might put the hen in the small area and let the chicks have the large part of the run. At night, maybe put the hen in a crate in the coop, if you can find a crate that will fit in the coop and be big enough for one of her.

This might help in several ways:
--more space for the chicks, since there are more of them
--chicks get comfortable in the space
--hen gets used to seeing the chicks in the space (I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not, but it certainly doesn't hurt.)

I don't know how long to do that, but I woud say at least a few days, so the chicks become good at finding the food and water and moving around in the space.

It's not a total fix, just a detail that might make things a little easier.

Hmm, I do let them in the run later in the day when I let the hen out to free range. So they get use to the space, water and food.
I might be able to figure something out with a crate for the bigger hen and see how that goes. She loses her shit when she's free ranging and sees them in the run and then sometimes just does her thing. I have also heard of putting them in with her on the roost at nigth once they are bigger and see how that goes. I do have a camera in the coop. It's big enough for my 4 girls as is the run and we do free range during the day and evening.

 

[NatJ]

I have also heard of putting them in with her on the roost at nigth once they are bigger and see how that goes.

I've heard of that. The idea is that they all wake up together and think they've always been together.

In practice, not even chickens are that stupid. They know whether those birds are familiar or not. But they may do some "talking" during the night (clucking) when it is too dark to see and fight, which may help them get along. I don't know if they do or not, but it seems possible.

I think the main reason this method "works" is because the chickens do any fighting they are going to do, before the person wakes up in the morning. That means the owner doesn't see it. With adult chickens that does sometimes work well enough. Other times, not so much, and the person comes outside in the morning to find a problem (injured chicken, or new chickens hiding in a corner afraid to come out and eat, or something of the sort).

I do have a camera in the coop. It's big enough for my 4 girls as is the run and we do free range during the day and evening.

The camera sounds handy, so you can see what happend when you aren't standing right there.

As regards the size of the coop and run, "big enough" is not always the same size for the same number of chickens. The usual guidelines are meant for chickens that already know each other and get along well. When you are introducing new chickens, they often "need" more space because they refuse to share with each other ("Go away, stranger, or I will peck you!")

The free ranging certainly may help. That makes a situation when they can interact with each other but have plenty of room to spread out if they feel the need. Whether that will carry over to peace inside the run and coop, I can't say for sure.

 

[Jsnick]

I've heard of that. The idea is that they all wake up together and think they've always been together.

In practice, not even chickens are that stupid. They know whether those birds are familiar or not. But they may do some "talking" during the night (clucking) when it is too dark to see and fight, which may help them get along. I don't know if they do or not, but it seems possible.

I think the main reason this method "works" is because the chickens do any fighting they are going to do, before the person wakes up in the morning. That means the owner doesn't see it. With adult chickens that does sometimes work well enough. Other times, not so much, and the person comes outside in the morning to find a problem (injured chicken, or new chickens hiding in a corner afraid to come out and eat, or something of the sort).


The camera sounds handy, so you can see what happend when you aren't standing right there.

As regards the size of the coop and run, "big enough" is not always the same size for the same number of chickens. The usual guidelines are meant for chickens that already know each other and get along well. When you are introducing new chickens, they often "need" more space because they refuse to share with each other ("Go away, stranger, or I will peck you!")

The free ranging certainly may help. That makes a situation when they can interact with each other but have plenty of room to spread out if they feel the need. Whether that will carry over to peace inside the run and coop, I can't say for sure.

Definitely not ready to sneak them in at night,lol . Yes, they are not stupid birds. Thanks, I will see how things go.

 

[Yardmom]

Lower ranking hens can sometimes be harsher to new comers than those higher in the pecking order. That being said your chicks will learn to escape from her if you leave them to it. Keep the fence with the hole and show them how to escape. Add more places to hide and let them go in and out of her sight. It will take time, but eventually if left in the same space at all times your hen will accept them as her flock.

 

[Jsnick]

Lower ranking hens can sometimes be harsher to new comers than those higher in the pecking order. That being said your chicks will learn to escape from her if you leave them to it. Keep the fence with the hole and show them how to escape. Add more places to hide and let them go in and out of her sight. It will take time, but eventually if left in the same space at all times your hen will accept them as her flock.

Thanks