New hen only interested in people and cheeps all the time?

[V2vee]

Hi all, we have a new hen we found wandering 2 weeks ago and she is slowly integrating into our existing flock.

She barely interacts with the other chickens other than dodging any pecks and moves very slowly / timidly - she even scratches the ground slowly when she’s foraging for food.

As soon as she see’s a person however she is super friendly and follows you around everywhere and just sits by you / on you. She also makes what I can only describe as chick like cheeping sounds as she’s following us around and she also does if the cockerel gets a bit too close.

Any idea what these sounds are? Is it a submissive thing? Is she scared?

She’s in beautiful condition and is also ex battery (beak has been trimmed) so I presume she has been someone’s pet?

Any advice / thoughts gratefully received!

 

[BDutch]

I suspect she was alone (not in a flock/tribe) and knows people better than other chickens.
If that’s the matter, and she is healthy she will adjust is time.

Are you sure she doesn’t belong to someone in your neighbourhood?

 

[V2vee]

I did wonder if she has not been kept with other chickens but was hoping that someone wouldn’t have done that to her! We’ve put the word around / posted on an online FB page for where we love so they are welcome to claim her if they see it!

She has just started to lay us one whopper of a brown egg over the last cpl of days and this wknd observed her interacting with a cpl of the other hens and she’s clearly moved a few hens up the pecking order so I’m not so worried about her now (and quite happy to keep her if no one comes forward!!)

 

[BDutch]

Congrats with her first egg!
I think she will be much happier with you/your flock if she was alone. Good to have an announcement out on fb if that works in your neighbourhood. Here we have a large WhatsApp group for social posts like that.