Introducing hen

[Chiknmma]

I posted a week or so ago about a hen who survived a predator attack. She was the only survivor and she is almost healed. I worry she might perminately have a limp. I just don't know yet. But since she was the only survivor of her flock I am going to try to introduce her to my other flock. My question is how do I go about this? If she has a limp will that make it harder? I was thinking of taking her out to meet them under my supervision for an hour or two daily until I feel better about it. I just really don't know how to go about this and would really appreciate some opinions. Thank yall so much

 

[sourland]

I would definitely try a gradual supervised integration. Good luck.

 

[Loving my girls]

Hi Hun,
My Ruby has a limp, she has had major problems with Bumblefoot throughout her life and we have only just beaten it. However the result is that she has a limp. We have never treated her any different from the rest of the flock and she is fine, in fact she stands up well against any wiper snapper that dares to push their luck.
Basically don’t worry about it, she will find her place in the flock.
Of course if you see any blood and/or major attacks I would step in, separate her with a friend in a crate for a week and introduce the pair together as if they are newbies,
Hope this helps
Hugz

 

[McChooky]

I would be careful about adding her if her puncture wounds and limp aren't completely healed.( 1 week isn't a lot of time) Chickens will naturally attack new comers especially weak or injured hens.Best to keep her in a dog crate a while

 

[AntiqueB]

How big is the other flock? Do you plan on having a second flock at some point? Or can your main flock hold 3 more chickens?

If the other flock is big, and you plan on a second eventually, I would get a couple pullets, preferably who don't know each other, and let them integrate, just those 3. From there, you can either begin a second flock, or integrate into the main flock, this time with support for the new (old) girl.

And plan on keeping them separate (look but don't touch), possibly for a long time. My 2 old girls finally accepted my 2 new girls after 4 months of a plastic fence down the middle of my run.

 

[Mrs. K]

DON"T introduce her to the flock, THEY ALL know she is a stranger.

Instead, introduce a middle of the flock bird to her, in her territory. There will be a dust up, but one on one is not bad. Let that settle a couple of days.

Then depending on how many you have, add another pair to the new pair, in the old girls territory. Again, might be a dust up, but should settle quickly. Mostly bluster is what I would expect. Wait 5 days.

Now you should have 4 birds, getting along pretty good. Depending on how worried you are, you can do it two ways.

Free range both groups together, let them go back where they slept the night before. If there is a wicked bird, who is merciless - lock her up. But chasing 4 birds is exhausting, and they usually quit. Eventually you can close up the coop you don't want used in a few days, and they should roost together.

The other option, is a bit of monkeying around, but it does really help with territory. Chickens defend territory. And Chickens know when they are in strange territory, and usually are pretty confident they don't belong, and seem to bring on the harassment.

To prevent this, at night, flip coops. After they have gone to roost, chickens are pretty easy to handle. So put them in the opposite coop. They wake up in a strange place, but because they are with their friends, and there are no other birds, they can explore without being chased for their lives. This lets them explore, figure out hideouts, find feed stations, and explore the coop in the daylight. Leave them there a couple of days 2-3.

Then let them all out together late in the afternoon, and lock up the coop you don't want them using, and they should all go to roost where you want.

Mrs K

 

[McChooky]

4 hens from my original flock of 10 still refuse to be integrated into my new flock (they hate the roosters) On the bright side I was able to integrate 3 of them so my hen only flock is down to only 4

 

[Chiknmma]

The flock I was trying to introduce her to was 13 chickens but I've decided to go with restarting a second flock. It wasn't what I originally wanted to do but it seems like the best option for her as even with a fence between them the flock seems to think she is a treat I'm offering them.