When we first got our RI reds last May we started with three. They were straight run but we live in town so were hoping for no Roos. Unfortunately we got one Roo who we loved to death but my neighbor made us get rid of him cause he crowed to loud . So we were down to two hens which was fine they got along really well. But then just two weeks ago her wattle and comb got really pale so I started to worry but had to go to work so my parents where whatching her to make sure she was fine. I got home and my mother said she was looking better so I went to go check on her. When I looked inside the coop she was laying on the coupe floor dead . So we had an autopsy done the vety said she had internal bleeding from either trama to the chest or a bacterial infection. So we put our last hen on some antibiotics. But now she is really lonley and I would like to get her another friend or two (as she is my baby and I want her to be as happy as possible.) but I have heard you have to get a chicken the same age as the ones you have is this true or can I get some chicks and raise them up and introduce them to one another? Also do they need to be RI reds? Sorry for the really long story just wanted to tell you guys what happened.
Hi and welcome to BYC. Sorry for the loss of your hen. If you could find another hen or two about the same age as your current hen, you'd need to quarantine them for at least 30 days. That way you can be reasonably sure they aren't carrying diseases that would be passed to your girl. Once the quarantine was over you could introduce them slowly. OR You could get day olds and raise them seperately until they are close to the size of your hen. They grow pretty quickly. Then with careful introductions they would be fine and your hen would be glad for the company I'm sure. They wouldn't have to be of the same breed. Lots of folks keep mixed flocks. Good luck to you.
Hi from Texas! Just our experience here. Chickens are like people, there is a pecking order to go along with their personalities. Recently we had a Buff hen at 8 weeks old get pecked and picked on by several flock members. They had all been raised together since birth. I quarantined her inside the coop, until she was better and then released her with the flock, but still had the same problem so I tried introducing her with some older hens. After a few days of being the child amongst the elders she flew up and over the 8 ft pens back to her original flock mates and now knows how to fight back and is doing well. If you can find some that are close to the same age get those and pen them where they can look at each other and get used to each other, then slowly coop them together. Also, any new birds could have diseases or not have the immunities that your bird has so you should be very careful in introducing a new member. Any new ones we get are quarantined into a coop that has been used by our flock but is vacant, this way the new members gat a taste of their new home before being incorporated into the flock. Some one will probably have a better explaination for you...
Thanks you two for the quick replies. I'm going to check my local Craigslist and see if anyone has some about the same age if not i'll probably get some chicks and see if I can intergrade them.
Poor girl. Check to see if there is a chicken rescue in your area. You might be able to adopt. If it were me, I'd just get a couple day-olds. No, they don't have to be RI Reds.
My clutch of 6 RIR's (hatched March 2007) had 5 roosters in it--all related. I sold them all at 7months old, and kept the hen. She got over missing them very quickly, and has been my egg maker ever since. I think that she thinks that the horses and cats are her friends, now. Buy more birds, of course. Don't worry about her. She isn't a dog or cat and won 't mourn for long. Hope this helps!
I have a quick question about all this, (not trying to hijack this thread or anything) but if you were to buy another bird and quarentine it for 30 days, what do you do about the bird you already had, about its lonelyness? Is there a way to maybe introduce some older chicks/young pullets any easier? Does the hen have to be broody in order for it to work? I would figure if it were lonely that the hen would welcome the new commers.. Or not? lol
