my chicken dilema...want opinions

[imtc]

I have 2 chickens (Hannah...a california white & Lilly...a barred rock) I bought back in May as newly hatched chicks. They are very tame and started laying sometime in Oct. I am new at the chicken thing as these are my 1st ones. I enjoy visiting with them a few times during the day and love collecting my 2 eggs...one white and one brown. After visiting a neighbor one day I spotted her Aracana's and really liked their look with their fluffy neck and ear tufts and the fact that they lay green eggs so have been wanting one for some time. My local feed store was out of them but the owner said she had some at her house she would sell me once they were big enough to not fit thru the fencing I will house them in. My "coop" is actually a pretty large dog run with a rabbit hutch inside that houses their nesting boxes. (I also have 5 rabbits in there with them and they all get along great). My dilema now is...my neighbor gave me the aracana hen a couple days ago and now I'm having second thoughts of keeping her. For one...she doesn't look like the "fluffy necked" ones I had seen and was picturing, she is full grown (at least the same age as mine (if not older), and seems to have "taken over" Hannah and Lilly's space and disrupted their environment somewhat. There are no fights breaking out or anything but the new one "Miley" (yes...my daughter named them all after Hannah Montana characters...lol) shows some aggression or pecking when I feed them trying to keep my original two away from the food. She spends a lot of time just laying in their nesting box (even on their eggs) yet hasn't laid one herself (not worried about that since I've only had her a couple of days) but since she's in their nesting area my other two don't go in the hutch...especially at night where they usually go to sleep (and it's getting cold here at night). I'm debating on whether or not to even keep her since I'm feeling bad for my original two losing their routine and territory by the 3rd wheel. Am I being over sensitive or strange? I don't want to feel ungrateful to the neighbor who "gave" her to me at my request. What would you do?

 

[mamaKate]

HI!

Any time you introduce a new bird to your group, it should be quarantined for the first 30 days. I guess its too late for that, but now you will need to watch all of them for disease symptoms. Personally, I would thank the neighbor and tell her it wasn't working out . Chickens have to work out a pecking order and it looks like the new one is going to be top hen. If that bothers you, you can try to give her back. You didn't mention the size of your coop. They need 4 sq ft per bird. If it's less than that, it can cause them not to get along.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If you don't mind not getting green eggs, Faverolles have the beards and muffs. They are very cute. They also have a very gentle temperament and might fit in with your girls a little better. They lay a tinted egg, a very pale brown egg.

 

[imtc]

If someone could tell me how to post pics I'd love to know...but my coop is actually a dog run probably 15ft long by maybe 6ft wide and has a rabbit hutch inside with their nesting boxes that is better enclosed for weather protection, egg laying & privacy. I actually returned the new hen to the neighbor with no problem after explaining the situation and will attempt once more for another one but will go with a much younger chick that shouldn't try to take "top hen" spot. I also don't believe she was even an aracana and may have even been a brooder since she hadn't laid eggs or left the nest boxes once sitting on someone else's egg. I'm just relieved and hopefully the next one will work out better.