New Pullet Problems

[Peach3000]

Recently I have purchased a new pullet. I posted a thread a while ago about a lonely chicken. A lot of people said to get another and I love new chickens, so I did and here we are. She is a 5 month old (according to the seller; she seems a little small) Barred Rock hen. Her name is Daisy. I have a question about the integration part of it and one about an accident.
1. I put them into two different pens up against each other and the larger one has nipped her comb twice. Is this just because she is bigger? When Daisy is bigger, will this problem arise again? Also, should I still put them in pens near each other until they are of similar size?

2. Just about an hour ago, they were eating in the grass and it was getting kind of dark. These are just pieces of fencing to keep them in while I am cleaning the coop. Daisy put her foot through the metal bar and her head through the bar just above it and knocked it down. I saw it happen and her head was stuck under the fencing. She acts completely normal and her head doesn’t appear injured. Should I be worried at all? She seems perfectly fine but I just want to make sure that this won’t cause any problems. The way I described the fall might be kinda confusing so below is a picture of her and the fencing I am talking about. The fencing is seperated into pieces and I can arrange them into what ever shape I want. Also, the box behind her was just a temporary coop and is not being used. She only knocked over one piece.
I appreciate any advice anyone has. Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Recently I have purchased a new pullet. I posted a thread a while ago about a lonely chicken. A lot of people said to get another and I love new chickens, so I did and here we are. She is a 5 month old (according to the seller; she seems a little small) Barred Rock hen. Her name is Daisy. I have a question about the integration part of it and one about an accident.
1. I put them into two different pens up against each other and the larger one has nipped her comb twice. Is this just because she is bigger? When Daisy is bigger, will this problem arise again? Also, should I still put them in pens near each other until they are of similar size?

2. Just about an hour ago, they were eating in the grass and it was getting kind of dark. These are just pieces of fencing to keep them in while I am cleaning the coop. Daisy put her foot through the metal bar and her head through the bar just above it and knocked it down. I saw it happen and her head was stuck under the fencing. She acts completely normal and her head doesn’t appear injured. Should I be worried at all? She seems perfectly fine but I just want to make sure that this won’t cause any problems. The way I described the fall might be kinda confusing so below is a picture of her and the fencing I am talking about. The fencing is seperated into pieces and I can arrange them into what ever shape I want. Also, the box behind her was just a temporary coop and is not being used. She only knocked over one piece.
I appreciate any advice anyone has. Thanks!

So both are "new"?
Where do you plan on keeping them "permanently"?
Do you have other chickens besides the 2?

Chickens nip one another, it would be hard to know if that's going to continue or not. If it's just a nip, then that's something I normally don't worry about. That's me though.

You do want to make sure that the cage or fencing is secure/stable/sturdy enough that it can't fall or that they can't get hung up in it. If she's able to knock over anything, then try to secure that better.

If they are both new and are right next to each other, then you may want to just go ahead and put them together and see how it goes. Being right next to each other is not a quarantine. Put them together when you have time to observe behavior, but don't step in unless one is being severely hurt - they may have a bit of picking at one another or drama which would be normal. They do need sufficient space to be able to get away from one another as well if they want to.

 

[Peach3000]

So both are "new"?
Where do you plan on keeping them "permanently"?
Do you have other chickens besides the 2?

Chickens nip one another, it would be hard to know if that's going to continue or not. If it's just a nip, then that's something I normally don't worry about. That's me though.

You do want to make sure that the cage or fencing is secure/stable/sturdy enough that it can't fall or that they can't get hung up in it. If she's able to knock over anything, then try to secure that better.

If they are both new and are right next to each other, then you may want to just go ahead and put them together and see how it goes. Being right next to each other is not a quarantine. Put them together when you have time to observe behavior, but don't step in unless one is being severely hurt - they may have a bit of picking at one another or drama which would be normal. They do need sufficient space to be able to get away from one another as well if they want to.

Only the pullet is new. The other is larger and is 3 yo. The coops they live in are pretty close by but the small pen they were in was just while I was cleaning the coop. I also put a towel up so they can’t see each other for now. The size and age difference is pretty big, so I was going to wait until the pullet grows bigger and then move them together.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Congradulations on your new girl! As far as Daisy's accident,I would just watch her over the next few days. They have to work out who is boss. I might move them away from each other. See but don't touch. Then after about a week or so they can have supervised time together. Make sure you can separate them if things get out of hand. hen its just a see how they get along thing. Your older hen will probably be boss but in the end she will like the company.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Only the pullet is new. The other is larger and is 3 yo. The coops they live in are pretty close by but the small pen they were in was just while I was cleaning the coop. I also put a towel up so they can’t see each other for now. The size and age difference is pretty big, so I was going to wait until the pullet grows bigger and then move them together.

So you have (1) 3year old hen and the new 5month old pullet - that's all?
How big is the coop and run? Photos of that?

If there is plenty of room, then I would put them together and see what happens. (monitored of course)

 

[Peach3000]

So you have (1) 3year old hen and the new 5month old pullet - that's all?
How big is the coop and run? Photos of that?

If there is plenty of room, then I would put them together and see what happens. (monitored of course)

I have two other hens but they are separated from the 3yo hen because of major fighting. A trip to vet was even involved. Then I got the pullet just last week to accompany my 3yo one because she has been like that for a long time and is getting lonely. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have two other hens but they are separated from the 3yo hen because of major fighting. A trip to vet was even involved. Then I got the pullet just last week to accompany my 3yo one because she has been like that for a long time and is getting lonely. Thanks for the advice!

Ahh.. yes, I just read your other thread from a while back. Hopefully they will get along fine.
I think I would see how well they do together. If she was being bullied by the others, then she may bully this one - you just never know with chickens.