lost a hen, need some advise.

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Well, things did not go well. :eek: I opened up the connecting door yesterday afternoon and mama and chicks went exploring, although staying close to their nursery gate. They were all together for several hours before the old biddy decided she was going to fight for #1 spot (hen who passed was the #1). She went after mama like a rooster, feet first! (She's old & lame, so I didn't know she could still move like that either!!!) But it freaked the chicks, so they went running around screaming, so mama started running around after them, then Gabby (old biddy) went chasing after mama hen. Now add in me crawling around trying to catch Gabby since they got under a bushy tree, I'm sure it was hilarious looking!:lau I finally caught her by the tail feathers, and got her moved into the yard. No one was injured or even any feathers pulled. But both mama and Gabby frizzed their feathers at each other thru the fence afterwards and did a little fight dance at each other.
I decided to let mama chose which coop she wanted to stay in, (she chose the nursery coop) and then later I let Gabby back in the run. They're used to free ranging in the backyard with the gate open, so it wasn't a big deal to be kicked out of the run. Now my plan is each day, I'll move Gabby to the yard if she's not already there and open the nursery gate so the family can roam the main coop and run area. If at any point mama takes her chicks to the main coop, I'll move Gabby to the nursery so she can have a little lesson in "real estate holdings" as I'm no longer worried about her being "alone".. the ole witch! (Gabby doesn't lay anymore, so worse case, I can cull her if necessary, but it's not my first choice.)
During the chase and running around, Gabby did "run over" a couple of chicks, but she didn't act like she was trying to get them, she only after mama who was trying to save her babies!
I will get some pics.... I was actually getting my phone ready to take pics when all the bruhaha started. None of this went like I expected! hahahaha So I'll keep you posted and include pics next time.
 
I'm so sorry you lost your hen and that your old biddy is being a b...... :( Gotta love chickens! I always use #s to my advantage...so if I'm adding more than I currently have as will be the case this year)...the new crew gets the big run and the fewer, older crew gets placed in the acclimation pen that the new crew was growing out in. I flip-flop them. I think that's what you are contemplating by putting the meanie in the nursery and mama and her chicks in the large run. I think that's the best way to go. Not only does it put meanie in her place...but it's a smaller space which is fine for one bird for now. Perhaps she'll start to want a flock more than she desires to dominate . Perhaps not. Either way, it'll give your chicks a chance to mature. I never introduce under 4 months so I would attempt to reintroduce in neutral territory (the yard) every now and again but with the idea that if it doesn't work, that I'll wait until chicks are 4 months old for the integration. By then, their size will make them more imposing and your older bird won't focus just on mama. She'll tire herself out chasing all of them...most likely a futile effort in her old age. And she'll realize quickly that a hierarchy already exists within the new birds. I'm sure there will still be skirmishes to test where she fits into the hierarchy but I don't think she'll still be defending her perceived position at the top having been alone so long. Integration is never easy...I hate it...but the worst is usually over after a few days. So I expose as much as possible and then add at night and then watch and intervene only when necessary. Usually by pulling out bullies and placing in chicken jail for a day or two until flock establishes new order. Keep us posted with how things go!
 
renk777 said:
I'm so sorry you lost your hen and that your old biddy is being a b...... :( Gotta love chickens! I always use #s to my advantage...so if I'm adding more than I currently have as will be the case this year)...the new crew gets the big run and the fewer, older crew gets placed in the acclimation pen that the new crew was growing out in. I flip-flop them. I think that's what you are contemplating by putting the meanie in the nursery and mama and her chicks in the large run. I think that's the best way to go. Not only does it put meanie in her place...but it's a smaller space which is fine for one bird for now. Perhaps she'll start to want a flock more than she desires to dominate . Perhaps not. Either way, it'll give your chicks a chance to mature. I never introduce under 4 months so I would attempt to reintroduce in neutral territory (the yard) every now and again but with the idea that if it doesn't work, that I'll wait until chicks are 4 months old for the integration. By then, their size will make them more imposing and your older bird won't focus just on mama. She'll tire herself out chasing all of them...most likely a futile effort in her old age. And she'll realize quickly that a hierarchy already exists within the new birds. I'm sure there will still be skirmishes to test where she fits into the hierarchy but I don't think she'll still be defending her perceived position at the top having been alone so long. Integration is never easy...I hate it...but the worst is usually over after a few days. So I expose as much as possible and then add at night and then watch and intervene only when necessary. Usually by pulling out bullies and placing in chicken jail for a day or two until flock establishes new order. Keep us posted with how things go!
Click to expand...
:rolleyes: Honestly, I was originally planning to wait until they were about 4months old to integrate them, but was worried about Gabby being alone. So now to plan B.
 
Well another update:
I decided to let Lacey (broody) decide when to move her chicks by opening the gate and allowing her and her chicks to enjoy the full run in the afternoons, & I moved Gabby (ole biddy) to the yard and garden area (where she would hang out every afternoon anyway) locked away from the others.. Once Lacey moved into the main coop, I moved Gabby into the mini coop. She paced a bit for the first hour, then gave it up, but she is not happy. :confused: I'm going to play it by ear and see how it all plays out for now before attempting another integration.
On another note, has anyone had a broody start molting? I can't say for sure she is molting, but I'm finding lots of feathers, mostly the smaller under-belly feathers, as well as some large primary feathers (not sure if they're wings or tail feathers). She doesn't have any bare spots I can see, but from the amount of feathers I'm finding, I'm assuming she's molting early. I've never had any of my girls molt this early. Just wondered??? :D
 
Really I think you are past the worst. It sound more like bluster to me. Keep on, I am betting in a week, you have everyone in the main coop. Try to interfere as little as possible. Get a good squirt gun, if they get into it again, get them with a shot of water, or even a hose will work. Don't want you crawling under a tree!

Mrs K
 
You're right Mrs K!!! I noticed last weekend my ole biddy was more talkative, and more engaged with what was going on. I'm now thinking maybe she was just mourning her buddy really hard because I opened the door between the two runs last Sunday and they've been fine together. I removed the separating fence Monday afternoon, so now they're all in together and are doing fine. Gabby, the ole biddy is still snoozing in the mini coop instead of moving back into the main coop, but I think she's enjoying snoozing in a nest rather than roosting since she has a bad leg. (It has a lowered roost-she's not using, but is more or less a giant nesting box). Everyone is keeping a little distance between themselves, if Gabby is near the front, Lacey (broody) and her chicks will be at the back area. But I haven't seen any fighting since opening the door and everyone seems to happy with the new norm.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GREAT ADVISE AND SUGGESTIONS!!! This website is the absolute best for answer!!! :bow:love:thumbsup
 
Hello again!
Okay, I need some more advise please. :) All of my hens are all moved in together in my main coop, and there aren't any issues. The chicks are 8wks old as of today, and mama Lacey hasn't weaned them. She's still snoozing with them in one of the nesting boxes while the ole biddy is up on one of the roosts. Last time she hatched/raised chicks (4 roos!) she started weaning them at 4wks and wanted nothing to do with them at 5 wks.(gave them to the feed store) But this time, she's still calling them for food, herding them where ever she wants, she's very protective of them & they listen or stay near her too. Should I just let her be or ????
 

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