Lone Hen left after fox attack

[Angmaria]

Unfortunately we have lost all but one of our flock to 2 foxes last night. We are obviously very upset and have done our best to secure the area for the surviving hen. She is four years old and i imagine traumatised. My question is when we are confident that the areas is 100 %safe should we leave her on her own or try to introduce some a couple of new hen "friends"? She is very independent and a bit of a feisty one so I'm not sure what to do for the best, we don't want her to be lonely nor do we want to stress her any more....

 

[nuthatched]

Quarantine new birds for at least 3 weeks, as far away from your hen as possible, then seperate them from her with fencing so they fan get used to each other firms a few weeks

 

[Angmaria]

Thanks, so you think it would be better to introduce some more rather than leaving her on her own given that she's a stroppy little madam with a history of anti-social behaviour? (needed to put peeky blinder things on her eyes a while back due to her bullying the others which to be fair did work....)

 

[SandyRiverChick]

What's her breed? Irrespective of breed, I'd for sure get a few more for several reasons: a)chickens really do prefer a flock, not to live as only child. That said, my oldest lady is bonded with my dog and cat too, haha. My oldest lady is a BO though, she's top lady but in a very respectful, tactful way. That's why I asked breed. If my top lady was a RIR bully for instance, I'd say that when I do a new integration, I'd take a loooong careful time like suggested already. And b) shes not real young anymore, you could lose her too, to a natural death sometime in the near future. So sorry about the attack! I just lost one to Hawk, it was horrible. I hope you have fun adding some newbies and I hope she does a full recovery!!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

OH also, WELCOME to BYC!! It's hands down the best Internet resource. I started chickens not long after BYC started and it's been my one and only "go to." SO much better than the "chickens for dummies," or some book like that I bought, hahaha!