Introducing new hen... when to give up?

egyptchick

In the Brooder
8 Years
May 4, 2011
43
1
32
Ontario
I have been trying to introduce a new hen to my flock. After quarantine and deaing with mites I have neen trying to introduce her into my flock of RIR and sex links. I have had her segregated in a cage in the coop with shared feeding. my hens leave.her alone when she is out free ranging but they attack her when she is in the cop with them. I have I
troduced her to the roost at night but come morning I find her bloody and beaten. today my husband accidentlly left the cage door opened while they were in the coop and I found her dripping blood from.the wound that just healed.

should I give up? She is a sweet little girl who will be my broody come spring. through all this she has continued to lay eggs daily.
I have a secondary rooster that has taken a shine to her and tries to protect her but isn't able to keep her safe so far.
Should i give her a permanet private space, or heal her up and give her away? Winter is coming and i am worried she won't survive alone in the cold.
 
I had a Silkie with my RIRocks and Tetra Tints who was the beat up chick. I've had her for 4 months and even the Roo would beat her up. She FINALLY has started to be allowed around the flock and eat by them. She still gets pecked and has learned not to run from the Roo but to squat and take the abuse till he's bored.

I never caged her sperately but I let them free-range every day. She was never bloodied up tho, so it might be different if your hens are out for blood.

I wouldn't give up yet, takes time to adjust. If you are not sure then pen her up seprate with the Roo.
 
Introducing a single new bird to a flock can be very difficult. Sometimes it just won't happen. I took in a single hen from someone who couldn't keep her anymore. I penned her inside the coop at night so they could get used to seeing her in there and I also fenced off part of their run so she could be in there but with a fence between them. I also let her out in the afternoon's to free range my pasture with the flock.

This went on for over three months and they continued to try to get at her through the fence in the run and through the pen in the coop. When out on pasture it was a little better, they'd let her forage near the group but they never, ever let her be in the coop. Things didn't get better, they got worse. I finally gave up when they nearly killed her in the coop. Her head was ripped open, blood everywhere, you could see her skull. I didn't think she'd survive but she did.

Now she simply lives in my barn where the coop is and she roosts on top of the coop at night. (Coop is inside my goat barn) Funny thing is, after a few months another hen from the flock, a bantam who had been her worst enemy decided to start roosting with her and living outside the coop. They have now become their own little flock and are buddies.

Normal pecking and chasing is one thing but if you've been at this for some time now and you still have a hen getting pecked bloody it just may be that it's not going to happen. If your able to give her her own space that's probably what I'd do. Maybe your #2 roo that likes her could hang out with her/roost with her?
 

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