Question about integrating new girls

[terryg]

If the bullied hen is injured then separate her in order to let her heal. Otherwise, what you do is you separate the bully. Keep her out of sight for about 3 days. When you return her she will no longer be at the top of the pecking order and, hopefully, it will stay that way. Adding older hens to a group of young ones is a recipe for flock dynamic issues, but I have done it numerous times. I have suggestions about how to make it go easier in this FAQ:http://hencam.com/faq/introducing-new-hens/

 

[linguafranka]

followup question - is a large dog crate (solid sides) ok to keep a chicken in for 3 days? just put some bedding down & food & water & actually leave her in there all or most of the time?
last time i tried to isolate a chicken, she became very agitated & i had to let her out.
however, it was in an open-sided cage & they could all still see each other thru the bars. perhaps that was the problem?
if she gets agitated & seems stressed by the confinement, is that ok as long as she has room to move & food & water?

 

[terryg]

A crate is fine. I've also used an outdoor rabbit hutch. She will get agitated, but she shouldn't be able to hurt herself. Keep her out of sight of the other hens. If she's really flailing around, you can cover the hutch with cloth to make it dark. She'll calm down. Remove the cover so that she'll eat and drink, but keep it dark. Good-luck!