Reintegrating a healed bird!

[WaywardRoz]

Hello, I am a relatively new (about 2.5 months) keeper of 3 rescue battery hens (Frenchie, Dolly and Ginger) . Unfortunately, Frenchie suffered a minor sprain to her foot a few weeks ago. We have kept her separated in a dog crate that is elevated and out of the way of the other two, but they have still been able to see and hear her. She is now healed and ready to reintegrate, but as she’s is our smallest and most nervous bird, I’m worried about making obvious mistakes and causing more harm!

I’ve moved the crate to the same level as the other two, so that they are more easily able to interact during the day, but they are still separate at night. I’ve also tried a couple of supervised sessions where she is out of the crate. At these times, she is getting pecked at and is hiding behind or inside the coop. I’m not sure though if this is just reestablishing the pecking order, and I should let it play out!

Am I best just letting her free back with the other two and seeing what happens? Can I put her back in the main coop overnight? Or should I keep going with the crate?

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you!

 

[WaywardRoz]

Hello, I am a relatively new (about 2.5 months) keeper of 3 rescue battery hens (Frenchie, Dolly and Ginger) . Unfortunately, Frenchie suffered a minor sprain to her foot a few weeks ago. We have kept her separated in a dog crate that is elevated and out of the way of the other two, but they have still been able to see and hear her. She is now healed and ready to reintegrate, but as she’s is our smallest and most nervous bird, I’m worried about making obvious mistakes and causing more harm!

I’ve moved the crate to the same level as the other two, so that they are more easily able to interact during the day, but they are still separate at night. I’ve also tried a couple of supervised sessions where she is out of the crate. At these times, she is getting pecked at and is hiding behind or inside the coop. I’m not sure though if this is just reestablishing the pecking order, and I should let it play out!

Am I best just letting her free back with the other two and seeing what happens? Can I put her back in the main coop overnight? Or should I keep going with the crate?

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you!

Ps. We are not entirely sure what caused the initial injury, but we’ve done a good check of all the housing and accessible areas to avoid something similar happening again!