Is this a good decision?

[4 luv of eggs]

Here's the background:

I have a lone production red that is almost nine weeks. Right now I have her separated and in my house because the other five picked on her mercilessly and left her bloody. All her other hatchmates have been successfully integrated with my bigger ladies (6 aged 15 weeks, 6 aged 12 weeks). I am now left with a very lonely chick that I need to re-home. We were going to make her a house chicken but because of the dogs and little children she would need to be caged somehow. I don't want that for her. To try to integrate her now would be a death sentence.

Yesterday we responded to a Craigslist post looking for chickens. It happens to be right up the street from us and there is a promise of free range and that they don't want them for food.
The response today was to just bring her by and put her in his barn. He said she will hide at first but will ultimately be fine. All I can think of is how frightened she will be and it's breaking my heart.

I guess I would just like some reassurance that this is my best option. Please let me know what you think and please be gentle. I'm fragile.

 

[gryeyes]

Oh, I don't know about THAT plan! I'm not fragile but I wouldn't just drop one of my chickens off at somebody else's barn and say "Buh-bye!"

If you can wait a while longer for someone else to reply, I'd do so. After all, she's a pullet, and has some value in prospective eggs.

 

[easttxchick]

That sounds questionable at best. I would wait for some other responses as gryeyes suggested.

 

[zazouse]

If you do this ,i would place her in there at night, newbees seem to get accepted faster this way.

 

[MissJenny]

Oh, I am fragile too -- some days more so than others. I can sympathize with your worry. I am in the very same boat in that I have to re-home a very pretty and sweet she who turned out to be a he. I am racked with worry that the new place will not be safe, that it will not be clean...

Here is my plan: when I take my bird to this girl, if I don't like her looks, if she comes across as an idiotic, a flake, a ninny, I will take my bird and go home. The County Fair is coming up next week and I can take his picture and a flyer to pass around to the 4-H kids. So I do have a back-up plan.

Can you come up with a back-up plan? Can you bring one of your sweetest and quietest hens in to make friends with your lonely hen? Then bring in a third and a fourth... integrate them in a big dog crate on her turf, not theirs... once there are three or four of them then you can integrate them back outside as a group. I'm thinking the whole process ought not take more than a week to ten days -- this way you wouldn't have to take her to the farm down the road where you think she'd be scared.

Sometimes it helps to think again,
Jenny

 

[MissJenny]

Oh -- and place your own Craigslist ad -- this gives you more control over who gets to come see your valuable bird.

Jenny

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Maybe I'm a meanie, but I think she'll be fine if you take her there. I recently got a RIR hen from a guy who only had 1 left (due to predators) and I just brought her home and stuck her with my flock. There were a few squabbles, but the next day she was part of the flock.

 

[4 luv of eggs]

That is pretty much my gut feeling. I don't like it either. When I called DH he could tell I wouldn't go for it. For heaven sake, I've hand raised her from a day old peep.

Is there any hope of my integrating her to my flock? I have read quite a bit on here. I know to slip her in at night but since she's a singleton, can it be done successfully? I don't have the ability or room to house her separately. I know I've backed myself into a corner with her and now I really need advise as to what to do with the poor little thing.

One more thing if you will. When she moves, it is with a very jerky manner. I know chickens move that way but hers is over-exaggerated. It made me wonder if that's why she was picked on.

 

[4 luv of eggs]

Quote:
There are a few that are pretty gentle. I sure as heck know who NOT to invite to the party. I do like that idea, thanks. I also have a rooster who is starting to assume his roosterly duties. He has been seen putting my bossy black australorp in her place for picking on a younger buff orpington. But he still picks on the lastest batch of intruders (the 9 week olds).

I thought of painting her up with Rooster Booster Pick No More and just putting her in there. Can you just imagine her walking around with that smelly stuff and pine shaving stuck all over her? That would scare the heck out of everyone!