New Question about re-introducting now healthy chicken to others.

[binders]

I know there are a lot of posts about introducing a new chicken to your flock but I have a question that I couldn't find an answer to. I have had a sick chicken recovering in a dog crate in my house for the past 3 weeks. She seems much better and I am looking to reintroduce her back to the flock. I have been putting the dog crate into the run where the other chicken are for the past two days and there has been a lot of interest in her. All the other chickens head into the coop for the night.

Here is my question - should I bring the recovered chicken (in dog crate) back into the house or leave her outside? The run and coop are both secure so that is not the question - it is a matter of warmth. The chickens in the coop are of corse warm enough but will the lone chicken in the dog crate be warm enough. It is getting down to the 40s at night now and I don't want her getting more stresseed than she already is and getting sick again. Should I cover up the dog crate at night instead of bringing it in at night?

I really want her to be accepted by the flock when she gets out ( she was the low hen in the pecking order before) and I don't want to her to get sick again. I don't have room to set up another run for her or room to put another hen in with her to help the reintroduction.

 

[binders]

Anybody out there with any thoughts. So I bring her in or leave her out in the cold?

 

[ccrow]

Would it be possible for you to put her in the coop after the rest have all settled, and then put her in the crate again before they have a chance to get after her? (Just trying to think what I might do...) That way she'd keep warm enough at night.

 

[binders]

My coop is not set up to be able to easily reach in and get a bird off the roosts. It is one of those little kit coops tht you get and asseble and I have since changed it to move the roosts up so that they are higher than the nesting boxes. None of the hens are very tame and I don't think I would be able to get the one hen in question out without causing quite a stir if even then. Still new to the whole chicken thing and still don't have my chicken catching/holding skills very well honed.

Will try it if I can't think of anything else.