New Chicken owner and a question

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cheshirecat25

cheshirecat25

In the Brooder
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May 6, 2020
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Hello! New chicken owner from southern California here. My husband and I had been discussing getting chickens and the opportunity landed in our laps recently. My brother has a few chickens and he took in a 9 month old hen that was being severely picked on by someone else's flock. Poor thing had scabs all over her head and neck. Unfortunately after my brother took her in, his chickens weren't a fan of her either. We build a nice coop, nesting house, and perch for her and she's home with us. She's definitely relaxed. She started laying eggs the next day when she hadn't for either of the other owners (I assume stress related), she comes to us, her scabs are healing, and generally just seems better. She's very sweet and calm. Even when in the situations she was in, she did not fight back, she just hid.

However, I do feel guilty that she is alone. But I worry about stressing her out by bringing in other chickens. Do you think that we should only bring in a few chicks and no one full grown? She seems very maternal to her eggs. I thought she may mother the chicks, and the chicks wouldn't pick on her. Yet I also worry that she picked up bad habits from the other chicken that did pick on her, and I don't want her doing that to the babies. The whole family goes out and interacts with her several times throughout the day. So she's not isolated. But Am I incorrect to assume that they would be happier in at least pairs?

Thank you for taking a look! I'm super excited to be a part of this community. :woot
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
First, how much space is in your coop and run? That will be your limiting factor in how many chicks you could get her.
No matter how mothering she appears to be with her eggs, if she's not truly broody, she will not just accept chicks. If you have enough space in your coop to house 2 or 3 more fully grown chickens, I would brood the chickens in a pen inside the coop with a brooder plate. You could use a large dog crate wrapped in chicken wire to keep the chicks in and her out.
You need 4 sq ft per chicken in the coop. 12 sq ft per bird in the run.
 
Last edited:
DobieLover said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
First, how much space is in your coop and run? That will be your limiting factor in how many chicks you could get her.
No matter how mothering she appears to be with her eggs, if she's not truly broody, she will not just accept chicks. If you have enough space in your coop to house 2 or 3 more fully grown chickens, I would brood the chickens in a pen inside the coop with a brooder plate. You could use a large dog crate wrapped in chicken wire to keep the chicks in and her out.
You need 4 sq ft per chicken in the coop. 12 sq ft per bird in the run.
Click to expand...


Thank you this is great information. I will have to ask my husband the specs on the coop and run. It seems modest to me. I prefer the extra room for animals so I think I would only have put an additional 2- 3 in there anyways and that should fit in with those guidelines well.

I am so happy to have her. She's completely part of our family. I just want her to be happy. 🥰
 

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