Lonely Hen

[Morgan Pardee]

I had a pair of hens yesterday, now I only have one. :-( It's winter and my almost-two-year old sexlink is now all by herself. Will she be OK until I find another hen to keep her company?

 

[Bridebeliever]

She'll be okay, but she'll need lots of extra companionship and attention from you.

Sorry for your loss! Get her a new friend soon.

 

[cavemanrich]

She will be OK of course, but chickens do like to be in company for sure. What happened to your other hen? As a side note.. Sex links do not lead long lives. They are production egg machines and do burn out after about 4 years of egg laying. Sad that they have to expire afterwards

.. They don't die right away by any means, just live shorter lives than many standard breeds.
Find another hen for her best well being.
AND ALSO

 

[Morgan Pardee]

I feel so bad. It's my fault. I let them out into their run yesterday. They'd been "cooped up" for more than week while I was on vacation and were taken care of by a friend. But, ran some errands and forgot to put my girls back into their secured coop at dusk (around 5 p.m.). It as dark when I noticed Butter was still out. It's not unusual for her to hang around my back patio rather than go into her roost like Pepper would. I put Butter in her coop but failed to check on Pepper. My granddaughter and I picked these girls out as chicks and named them. She doesn't know yet .... I've had chickens before in the country, so I should have known better.

 

[Bridebeliever]

I feel so bad. It's my fault. I let them out into their run yesterday. They'd been "cooped up" for more than week while I was on vacation and were taken care of by a friend. But, ran some errands and forgot to put my girls back into their secured coop at dusk (around 5 p.m.). It as dark when I noticed Butter was still out. It's not unusual for her to hang around my back patio rather than go into her roost like Pepper would. I put Butter in her coop but failed to check on Pepper. My granddaughter and I picked these girls out as chicks and named them. She doesn't know yet .... I've had chickens before in the country, so I should have known better.

Awww, I'm so sorry for you.

The same happened to me on Saturday. We forgot to get our free range girls until 5pm (we usually put them in around 4pm). My daughter went over and an OWL was in their coop! We almost lost our RIR which was trapped inside with the owl. If we hadn't come for another couple of minutes it would have been a different story. We have both learned our lesson now. We'll be very careful from here on out.

 

[Morgan Pardee]

I'm sorry. Winters are tough, aren't they? I live in the north and the days are too short to be home to let them in and out during daylight hours and still hold down a job.

 

[Bridebeliever]

I know! Ours would definitely be coop bound is we worked away from home. They have a nice big coop so when we have to go away for the day they are fine in there but they sure do love their freedom when they get it.

You should call your local feed store and see if they have a number for people that raise chickens in your area. You may be able to get her a friend right away. It makes my heart hurt to see your profile pic and know that one is no longer with you.

 

[Morgan Pardee]

I went to the Grange and found a notice on the bulletin board posted by someone who had young pullets for sale. I brought home two, because he said it's easier to integrate two than just one. I put them together in the coop and then hung out with them to make sure everyone behaved. Then at dusk, I put the younger ones into the roost with a red heat lamp to settle down, which they did almost immediately. Near dark, I put my lone hen inside; she was nervous, but not aggressive. After awhile, I turned off the heat lamp and turned on a tiny space heater. I'm hoping they'll be comfortable through the night and used to each other by daybreak. Crossing my fingers!

 

[Bridebeliever]

How old are the pullets? Yes it probably was good to get two instead of one. Okay, I have to ask...the space heater isn't anywhere the chickens can knock it over is it?

Did the previous owner have them under a heat lamp or with supplimental heat?
Happy for you! Pictures?