Only a single hen

[Meghanneramos]

Hello,
I have one single lone hen that my sister gave to me. She is a cross between a bantam and a aurocana (sp?) She is 5 years old and aggressive toward the younger hens. So, I have her. My question is this:
She has moved up to the top shelf of where I put my canning jars (I moved them) and she refuses to come down. We are in a cold snap right now with the 1st snowfall of the year and temps into the single digits (wa state) but she has been up there for about 2 weeks I tried putting her food and water on the ground for her, but she just went for a couple days without. So, I moved them up there with her.

Tonight the low is 8°. She doesn't want to come off of the shelf, and has made that very clear. We have been trying to get her into a large box (the one our washer came in) in the garage. But I don't think she wants that. Will she freeze by herself out there? She is on my back porch which is covered and has walls that my husband hung, which is actually just painter's drapes but they are heavy. The rabbit is tucked in there as well, in her enclosed rabbit condo lol so there is a little heat generated, there is also my chair, and a deep freezer. Will she be ok there by herself or should I insist that she come inside?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
We are glad you joined this flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.
As long as she stays dry she should be just fine.
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[Kessel23]

Like Kiki said, she will be fine if she stays dry. I went through two days in the -30s and did not lose a single animal here.

 

[Meghanneramos]

Even if she is just one chicken and doesn't have any sisters to cuddle up with at night? Also, the poo collecting has to be hazardous to her health?

 

[Mrs. K]

At five years of age, I would think her days are numbered. If you really want to put her in the box, try a fishnet, with a 4 foot handle, pull her off and wrap her and the net in a towel, carry to the box and untangle. Yourself, wear a long sleeved shirt and gloves.

I too think, that if she is out of the wind, she will be fine. But I don't like the idea of the poop building up, I think I would move her, whether she likes it or not.

MRs K

 

[Meghanneramos]

Mrs K, she ended up coming down off the shelf and moving back into her coup herself today, now that it has warmed up to 40 degrees outside. We got her off the shelf long enough the other to switch it with another, clean, shelf also. But she was not coming down after that. Lol

This morning when I went to check on her, she wasn't in the kitchen window. I went outside and she was sitting in front of the rabbit condo. When I sat down in my chair to read my book and drink my coffee she jumped up on the arm of the chair, like usual and we hung out for awhile. Before I went inside I opened the door to her coup and just left it open and she was in her space before I closed the back door.

She is usually a very friendly hen. The kids carry her all over the place and she likes to sit behind my oldest while she does hw on the computer sometimes. The snapping and flapping she was doing I believe was just telling us that she wanted to sleep on the "couch" for a few nights. Lol