I've been reading around to get some advice and decided I might as well join-in and ask, just in case I missed something!
My husband and I got our first flock last year - 5 hens & 1 rooster - all barred rocks, all free-ranging and we had no problems whatsoever. The chickens were housed in a barn with a pig, which I suspect kept all predators at bay. We could even leave the outside door to the 'hen pen' open overnight and never had a problem.
This year, however, the pig is gone. We decided to get additional chicks (both layers and broilers) and when the broilers were too big for the chick box in the garage, we moved them out to the 'chick pen' in the barn. Apparently a flawed air-vent system and the lack of a pig was a welcome invitation for a ring-tailed visitor to come and kill all 10 of my broiler chicks. The carnage must have been too much for other predators to ignore. Two days later I went out and had only 1 of my year-old barred rocks perched amid shavings and feathers - clucking to herself and shaking a bit. We immediately built her a temporary coop to keep her in the garage (where our laying chicks still resided).
Currently, the laying chicks (Rhode Island Reds) are 8 weeks old, and doing well. We fixed the problems with the coop and have moved them (3 total) out to the 'hen pen' in the barn, as they have outgrown their chick box. The year-old hen is still in her temporary coop in the garage, and seems quite content. She has been alone now for about 4 weeks. We set one of the chicks in the doorway of her pen, to see how they would react, and (as I suspected) she pecked her. Not bad, didn't attack her, just enough to scare the chick.
I was very worried about reintroducing the lone hen into a "flock" as she's been on her own for awhile now (and was quite dominant in her previous flock). I have read a few suggestions regarding introducing at night, etc. but have not heard anything about introducing a lone hen into a flock of skiddish chicks. Also, the chicks are now residing in the hen's previous territory -- is that a big chicken no-no?
We have an established "chick pen" in the barn that is next to the "hen pen", with a half-wall between them, and a wire wall that continues from the top of the half-wall to the ceiling of the barn. With a wall in between I don't think they'll be able to get "acquainted". My only thought was to cut a small doorway in the wall so that the chicks could have access to the seperate pen if the situation required it. [I don't plan on adding the hen for another 8 weeks or so.]
Any suggestions from more established owners?
My husband and I got our first flock last year - 5 hens & 1 rooster - all barred rocks, all free-ranging and we had no problems whatsoever. The chickens were housed in a barn with a pig, which I suspect kept all predators at bay. We could even leave the outside door to the 'hen pen' open overnight and never had a problem.
This year, however, the pig is gone. We decided to get additional chicks (both layers and broilers) and when the broilers were too big for the chick box in the garage, we moved them out to the 'chick pen' in the barn. Apparently a flawed air-vent system and the lack of a pig was a welcome invitation for a ring-tailed visitor to come and kill all 10 of my broiler chicks. The carnage must have been too much for other predators to ignore. Two days later I went out and had only 1 of my year-old barred rocks perched amid shavings and feathers - clucking to herself and shaking a bit. We immediately built her a temporary coop to keep her in the garage (where our laying chicks still resided).
Currently, the laying chicks (Rhode Island Reds) are 8 weeks old, and doing well. We fixed the problems with the coop and have moved them (3 total) out to the 'hen pen' in the barn, as they have outgrown their chick box. The year-old hen is still in her temporary coop in the garage, and seems quite content. She has been alone now for about 4 weeks. We set one of the chicks in the doorway of her pen, to see how they would react, and (as I suspected) she pecked her. Not bad, didn't attack her, just enough to scare the chick.
I was very worried about reintroducing the lone hen into a "flock" as she's been on her own for awhile now (and was quite dominant in her previous flock). I have read a few suggestions regarding introducing at night, etc. but have not heard anything about introducing a lone hen into a flock of skiddish chicks. Also, the chicks are now residing in the hen's previous territory -- is that a big chicken no-no?
We have an established "chick pen" in the barn that is next to the "hen pen", with a half-wall between them, and a wire wall that continues from the top of the half-wall to the ceiling of the barn. With a wall in between I don't think they'll be able to get "acquainted". My only thought was to cut a small doorway in the wall so that the chicks could have access to the seperate pen if the situation required it. [I don't plan on adding the hen for another 8 weeks or so.]
Any suggestions from more established owners?
