Questions about new companion for our chicken

[cvontres]

Sadly, this morning we discovered that one of our two Rhode Island Red chickens was killed by a predator. We worry for the sweet chicken we still have -- that she'll be lonely.

Would you recommend getting a full-grown chicken or chicks? Also, do you recommend getting the same breed, or are there others you would recommend?

Thelma is 3 years old. She's a sweet-natured chicken who will follow us around the yard. We just don't want her to be lonely.

--Cindy
Oceanside, California

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

With chicks, you probably have a better chance of not bringing new disease onto your property.

However, chicks take time to grow up.

If it were me, I'd find a grown hen from a trusted and hopefully disease-free source. RIR hens have a reputation for being more aggressive with timid chickens. So if it were me, I'd want to buy a hen that was not a bantam, and could hold her own.

Chicks shouldn't be integrated with a RIR hen until they are pretty much the same size as her, ideally at 4 months of age.

A lot of people here on BYC say to quarantine for 30 days at least, and it is indeed a good idea, when buying hens. There are diseases that can result in a carrier state (asymptomatic) though, and the quarantine won't reveal the illness.

 

[nurse_turtle]

Thelma might like 2-3 quail to mother over or even a small bunny. Her new companion doesn't have to be another chicken necessarily. If you do choose another hen, maybe a bit younger and breed is probably not important except to get one that's docile like a Silkie, Cochin, Orpington, or such.

 

[cvontres]

I've been looking around on Craigslist, and I found someone who is selling a 1.5 year old RIR. She says she can pet hers anytime. I wonder if it would be a good fit. How do you tell?