Lonely chicken

[ChickieChick11]

Hi everybody, I have an almost two-year-old RIR named Poppy who has been separated from her flock since about November due to bullying. Her best friend died about two months ago who she’d been raised with from day 2. The other four chickens I have will try to fight her through the fence whenever I take her outside. I’m worried that now she is alone and has no one to help her for defend her. How do I deal with this? She’s never really liked any chicken other than her late friend. I really need her out of the garage by spring but don’t want to put her back in if the bullying and fighting is going to continue. Do I try to find another single chicken and put them together so she’ll have a friend when I put her back in? Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Helen_Jayne]

That sounds like a plan to me, get a chicken or two from a quiet breed, put them in together for a while until they've created a flock and hopefully they'll stick together when you put them back in. Or you could split up the other four to change the dynamic, put one or two of them in with her in the garage, keep an eye on them and see if they get on alright. Or if you've got friends with chickens see if she does better somewhere else. Chickens don't like being alone so whatever you do it's got to be better.

 

[lexilovee]

I definitely agree! Put another hen with your lady in the garage and then introduce them together! When we do that with the chicks, they stay bonded for life, so perhaps it will work with the hens!

That sounds like a plan to me, get a chicken or two from a quiet breed, put them in together for a while until they've created a flock and hopefully they'll stick together when you put them back in. Or you could split up the other four to change the dynamic, put one or two of them in with her in the garage, keep an eye on them and see if they get on alright. Or if you've got friends with chickens see if she does better somewhere else. Chickens don't like being alone so whatever you do it's got to be better.

 

[Perris]

good luck with your plan - sounds good to me

 

[ChickieChick11]

Thank you all for your reply! We have a friend with about 14 chickens so we are going to play match-maker and see if she likes the one we pick! I definitely think she needs a friend. Thank you all again!

 

[Tinamariebutterfly]

Thank you all for your reply! We have a friend with about 14 chickens so we are going to play match-maker and see if she likes the one we pick! I definitely think she needs a friend. Thank you all again!

How did it go with ur hen?

 

[Mrs. K]

How are the four in the flock getting along. If they are getting along good, there is a good chance that is a the number of full grown hens that fit in that set up. Often times people think that if birds are raised together, they will always get along and tolerate too small of a set up. They won't.

What was enough room when they were chicks, often becomes not enough room for full size birds, and they begin to attack the lowest birds in an effort to drive them away.

So how big is your set up? As in feet? Even if the box said it could hold 6 birds, it very often cannot. So many people get those darling pre-fab coops, which do work pretty well for chicks, but become a wreck when they reach full size.

So, if this is what happened to you, you might want to let this hen go to someone else instead of adding more birds.

If you truly have a large coop, larger than 6 x 4 or bigger, and an adequate run of 6 x 10, well then you could add more chickens. Otherwise, I think you should reduce the flock size.

Mrs K