Introducing lone banty to established flock - need help and advice!

[ChickensAreSweet]

Another issue that I forgot to mention is that it might be wise to set out a pie pan or container of food for the bantam, so that whomever she resides with won't hog the feeder hopefully.

 

[LALASD4]

I guess just watch them.

Today I put all my 7 week olds together with the big guys and they are ok. Some of the big guys are ten times their size but they just ignore the small guys.

They have seen each other thru wire for about 2 weeks.

 

[ErinG]

Good luck with the transition. We have one banty and 4 regular sized hens. She gets picked on all of the time, still after 4 months. I feed her on the side to make sure she gets enough to eat, I love her, but I don't think I would put just one banty with all full sized again. I'd love to get her a banty roo, maybe in the spring. Do you have room for one more banty hen?

 

[featherz]

I am going to be doing this soon, but I have four banty hens to introduce. I am hoping that will work better? I'll do it slow, of course.

 

[AccioSarah]

Thanks for the responses! I think we'll try having the banty make friends with one of the big hens- whoever is the lowest in the pecking order I guess.

I think we'll have to look into getting her a banty-hen friend, if it'll make her life more comfortable then we should do it. I'll be on the lookout for another adoption, otherwise we'll find one in the Springtime.
Thanks all!
Sarah

 

[augustwest]

I had 2 bantams with my 4 standard sized and introduced them at the same time. It was tough, but it worked. We just lost one bantam and now the remaining one is having a bit of a hard time. But, she's a silkie and is kind of "slow". It's going OK, though. We are planning in introducing a bantam silkie roo soon.

Anyhow, we have a small coop and a huge run. We made a small space in the coop that the bantams can get into that the big chickens can't. We made a simple frame in the back corner of the coop next to one of the nest boxes. I covered it with chicken wire and cut a bantam sized hole in it. The big chickens can squeeze their big butt's into it, but not easily. We made a short little roost for the bantams as well. The silkie likes to sleep in the nest box, but the other chicken would roost right next to her on the edge of the nest box.

Our run is big (like 100 by 50 feet), but we did the same thing out there and made a mini-run for the bantams. Mostly so that they could escape an attack. I carried them into it every am for the first month or so- and locked them in while we weren't home. They LOVE hanging out in there, and sometimes a standard hen can get in but not out. You might consider something like that, but stick your lowest hen in with the bantam?

I'm a total newbie, but thought that I'd share what worked for us....