We had a flock of chickens we recently split up due to sharing half the flock with my dad. (which long story short ended up being more roosters then hens; we gave away the roosters to good homes) My dad had his half of the flock for a couple weeks and now after discovering and then giving away the roosters he had only one hen left and would like to return her to us. Which we are very happy to take her back. All of these hens were together since born, separated at 5 months of age for a couple weeks and I would like to know how to properly reintroduce them. Thank you in advance!
Hello and Welcome To BYC! It is best to do it gradually with a period of seeing but no touching through wire seem to work best, ie dividing the coop into two sections or keeping the new one in a cage inside the coup for a couple of weeks to a month at least. The chickens will get to know each other and sort of work out a pecking order before actually coming in contact with each other. Letting them free range together is a good idea and should help... It will take a couple of weeks to get the pecking order sorted out. There is a nice article in the Learning Center on integrating flocks you might like to check out, the part about actually combining them is after the quarantine section https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
So glad you joined us. Agree with Kelsie2290. Even tho they once knew each other, once apart for over even a few days they have to be reintroduced.
Hello there and welcome to BYC! Kelsie X2 Keep her separated in a cage for several weeks so they can all get to know her again. When you do mix her in, add a couple more feed and water stations as the flock will tend to guard these areas and can starve her out. Just keep an eye on things for a few weeks after mixing and always intervene if it turns bloody. Roosting time too can be brutal, so you might go up at that time and make sure she gets on the bar. Good luck with your flock and welcome to ours!
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help. X3. The see but don't touch method is the most effective.
Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. As the other members have indicated, new hens need to be introduced (or re-introduced in your case) to the flock slowly and carefully. There is an excellent article at http://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/introducing-new-chickens on introducing new chickens to the flock. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. What kind of chickens do you have?
Maybe they will surprise you and welcome her back with "open wings," or not! Welcome to Backyard chickens.