Introduction: Chook rescuer from New Zealand

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dpetzen

dpetzen

Chirping
Jul 26, 2018
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New Zealand
Hi

I thought I'd post a quick intro, as suggested when joining.

I decided to get chickens (or chooks as we call them in New Zealand) about two years ago. My partner suggested that I would get rescue chooks, as she knew I care about animals and despise animal cruelty.

I got 4 chickens from a battery farm and they were in an absolutely horrific state. I nurtured them back to health, which has been so rewarding that I've been hooked on saving chooks since.

I currently have 10 Red Shavers that all have been saved from local factories (I refuse to call them farms).

I currently have some problems with Daisy, one of the chooks in the latest batch I saved, who just can't seem to integrate with the flock, so I though I should find the best online forum possible to seek help and BackYardChickens seemed to be the best place to find help.

My chooks are incredible dear to me, but when I'm not having a great time with my hilarious little friends, then I try to enjoy a dram of fine single cask scotch whisky, go motorcycle racing, long walks (tramps) with my partner or, fairly frequently, practice Muay Thai.

I tried to keep it as short as possible, so feel free to ask away of you want.

Regards,
Dan
 
Hi Dan and Partner,
:frowWelcome to BYC.
I’m glad you found us and thank you for the good work you are doing rescuing your chooks!

In what way is daisy having difficulty?

Are the others being cruel to her, is she being the aggressor, or is she being standoffish?

A period of time where they can see each other but not actually touch each other is sometimes helpful.
A portable puppy pen ( sometimes called an x-pen) can come in handy here if you can get your hands on one. Plus something you can put over the top of it to keep daisy from flying out.
Set that up right along side of the others’ enclosure or in their free ranging area if they aren’t enclosed. Some treats on the ground for both the group and Singleton so they can experience the pleasure of pecking and scratching near to one another....
This integration can take patience on your part. It isn’t a quick fix.
After several days perhaps you can pick a friend for her and put her in the pen with daisy for companionship.

Sharing treats on the ground, cast broadly so as not to causing a crowding issue late in the day helps some as well.
These things worked for me in re-integrating a wounded hen that was separated during the healing process and then not immediately accepted back into the flock.it took two weeks to re-establish harmony.

Also look on YouTube for a documentary about an English woman who recurs battery hens. I believe it’s called the secret life of chickens. It’s marvelous and I think you’d enjoy it.

I’m sure you’ll get a lot of responses about this dilemma.
 

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