Mixing babies with year old hens

[MKM]

I have one 10 month old hen and would like to get her a companion. She is a RIR. Will she peck a chick or will they be compatible? She free-ranges during the day in a fenced in yard and has a coop for night time and laying. Please advise. If yes, should I stick to the same breed?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I assume you mean they'd be housed together? There's a good chance she will injure or kill the chick, unless she's at the end of being broody and ready to accept chicks. Better to keep some form of barrier between them until the baby is much larger.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

You can buy a pullet to go with your 10 month old hen at Murray McMurray Hatchery. Your RIR will probably see a young chick as a mouse and will try killing it.

 

[MKM]

How old is old enough? At what age does a pullet begin?

 

[rebrascora]

You would be best with another pullet the same age or at least a similar size, better still two pullets, because if anything happens to one you are back to a single hen again which is never good. Also introducing 2 or more is always easier than just one. You would still need to partition the coop or put it/them in a cage inside the coop or an adjacent coop/run for a couple of weeks in a "see but not touch" approach, as she will almost certainly be aggressive towards any newcomer even if she is lonely. Having more than one food and water station will help with integration too when you eventually put them in together. RIR are be known to be quite dominant and forceful, so you would not want to give her a too submissive breed as a companion, perhaps a Barred Rock would be good if you wanted to try a different breed.
A pullet is a female under a year old, so it covers any age from a day old chick to it's first birthday.

 

[MKM]

Thank you for your helpful information.

 

[aart]

How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?.... pics would help too.
I've read that you started with one rescue bird, but what are your goals long term?
It's important to have adequate housing and integration can be tricky especially with just a few birds. Here's some tips and links.

Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

This used to be a better search, new format has reduced it's efficacy, but still:
Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading, BUT some info is outdated IMO:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

 

[MKM]

The coop I have is a small coop that is movable by 2 people. It is 84x42x57 with 3 small nesting boxes. She comes out about 6:30 am and goes back around 5:45 pm currently and free ranges in our fenced in back yard during the day (acre plot). The coop is basically for laying eggs and night time protection. I am not sure what my plan is because I wasn't planning on her! She has plenty of trees, bushes and under split level deck to hide out and seems fairly crafty with that. Also have 2 old dog houses on property she shops for bugs in. My concern is that she might need a companion since she is so social. I work during the day so I am concerned about companionship needs. I clearly don't know what I am doing but she seems to be thriving and can't wait to tell me about her day every day! She is a very sweet chicken and very tame. I am enjoying her immensely but I don't want to deprive her. I am thinking about getting another pullet for her but wouldn't want to get one that the hawks could kill, but also fairly hardy temperature wise. Still trying to figure everything out so I welcome all advice.