So for the past week there's been this roaming hen, in the streets just walking around' I've been trying to get her but she just flys away or runs for the bushes, she's a bantam, but she seems like a cross, anyways I was watching her to check what tree she was going to roost and it happens to be a tree in front of my house, I'm going later at night with a ladder to try and grab her since they can't really see at night. I was wondering if I do catch her and I put her with my other hens and rooster and they begin the pecking order and once they settle it will she follow them or will I have to keep her cooped up for 3-4 weeks!?
If you do catch her you should quarantine her for a few weeks to protect your flock. Once she is in the flock she will prob follow but i wouldn't let her out right away. They are very social but it can take time to settle & hens can be vicious to newbies. There are great articles on here about different methods to intro new birds to the flock. Best of luck.
I would keep her locked up for a few weeks away from your other chickens to observe her and look for signs of sickness or feather loss indicating mites, then I would keep her in with the flock for a month to make sure she would stay with them and come back after letting them loose. Welcome and enjoy BYC! Steve.
Welcome to BYC! As others suggested, quarantine her before you add her to your flock. You don't want to accidentally introduce sickness to your flock. Good luck!
