- Nov 26, 2011
- 3
- 0
- 7
Hello everyone. I have been raising chickens for the past 14 or so years; usually the flock ranged from between 5-14 birds, but now I have a unique problem that I have never encountered. The last chicken. For the past three years there have only been two of them, and recently my Rhodie died of old age. The hen that remains is an Ameraucana, Blondie. She was always on the lowest rung of the pecking order and has always been fairly independent. The Rhodie used to pick on her until she realized she was her sole remaining companion. Blondie tended to Rhodie until her last days, yelling at me to give her attention whenever I would come by to check on her.
Since Rhodie's death, she had been quiet. She stopped laying, though I think that is in part because she started molting. I think she is now helping along the molting process with some serious plucking, however. I feel quite bad for her, because I do think she is lonely in their large now-empty coop. She is free-range, but will only come out of there is activity in the backyard. (Thankfully, it's been fairly warm out, so despite it being late November we've been active back there.) I briefly considered giving her to a flock up the street so she wouldn't be so lonely, but I know how cruel a flock can be to a lone newcomer, especially as old as her. Getting more chickens is unfortunately not an option. I am thinking about making her a new pen in the barn attached to the house, where there is more activity for her to be surrounded by... but it would mean a much smaller pen. She's currently accustomed to having about 300 square feet to roam in with dust baths galore and instant access to the outdoors should I let them out for the day; the proposed pen would be around 10sq feet. I know this is plenty adequate, and she and the entire flock were quite spoiled with their spacious apartment. I just imagine her getting quite bored with so much less space, and no room to dust bathe.
I have been spending more time than usual down with her, giving more treats than usual, and she'll follow me around but she doesn't like to be touched. So, what do you do when your last chicken is lonely? ):
Since Rhodie's death, she had been quiet. She stopped laying, though I think that is in part because she started molting. I think she is now helping along the molting process with some serious plucking, however. I feel quite bad for her, because I do think she is lonely in their large now-empty coop. She is free-range, but will only come out of there is activity in the backyard. (Thankfully, it's been fairly warm out, so despite it being late November we've been active back there.) I briefly considered giving her to a flock up the street so she wouldn't be so lonely, but I know how cruel a flock can be to a lone newcomer, especially as old as her. Getting more chickens is unfortunately not an option. I am thinking about making her a new pen in the barn attached to the house, where there is more activity for her to be surrounded by... but it would mean a much smaller pen. She's currently accustomed to having about 300 square feet to roam in with dust baths galore and instant access to the outdoors should I let them out for the day; the proposed pen would be around 10sq feet. I know this is plenty adequate, and she and the entire flock were quite spoiled with their spacious apartment. I just imagine her getting quite bored with so much less space, and no room to dust bathe.
I have been spending more time than usual down with her, giving more treats than usual, and she'll follow me around but she doesn't like to be touched. So, what do you do when your last chicken is lonely? ):
