More questions.....

[shannonb1]

I am so thankful I found this place......I have so many questions : )

I have 6 hens and 1 rooster.......one hen I have was recently given to me along with a RIR - both pullets at the time they came to me this summer. The new girl is an EE and is not liked by the hens or Rooster AT ALL. In fact I thought he had pecked her eye out the one time she came down off her roost. Turns out it was just a lot of blood because of a torn eyelid. Thank goodness.......but she sits on a roost all day or flies out over the the screen door and free ranges by herself until dark then she goes back to the coop. I was thinking of getting another rooster (young one) to keep her company and to protect her, but now I'm thinking maybe I should get some more hens - young ones that don't know how to be mean yet, lol.....

Do you think that is a good idea? Maybe I can somehow seperate my coop in half and let the young ones and her in one part and the roo and his girls in the other.

What do you think?

Thank you,
Shannon

 

[Mrs.Puff]

How long have you had her? Most people try to introduce a new bird by putting it in a wire cage (or something similar) where the other hens can see her and get to know her for a while. I doubt that getting new hens will do much good. What kind are your other birds? Some breeds are way more aggressive than others.

 

[shannonb1]

Mrs. Puff,

I have a Buff Orp, a RIR, an EE, a Barred Rock and the Roo is some sort of cross........

I introduced them very very slowly and the RIR was accepted with a little big of squabbling but all in all it went well for her, but this new EE is white and I'm starting to think her color has something to do with it. My last hen that the roo did not like was white as well....she came as a newbie with 3 of the 4 listed above and he was very cruel to her as well.

My roo is prejudiced against white hens!!!

So you don't think giving her some young friends would help, huh? I hate for her to have to live her whole life segregated from the rest of the flock. She's got a good home, but it must be lonely.

Any other ideas?

(not getting rid of the roo.......he came from a nasty place and I want him to live out his days at a nice home......besides he's nice to people and besides being a little hard while mating the other hens he's very sweet to them. Always makes that cackle when he sees something (like a treat) that the hens might like......I love that sound)

 

[shannonb1]

Sorry, forgot to answer that I've had her since beginning of September.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Oh dear. It does sound like you have a "racist" flock. It's funny, I have several white ones, and they often stick together, separate from the other brown/black/grey ones. Maybe you could get some more white ones! They should have gotten to know her by now since it's been two months.