Reintroducing Hen to Flock after Prolapse

[Brinn1122]

Does anyone have any suggestions on reintroducing a single chicken to a flock in the winter?

I had a buff orpington that prolapsed on January 22 and we have had her inside for the passed three weeks. She is doing very well now and we are trying to get her back outside with her sisters. Unfortunately we have a foot of snow and a couple snow storms coming this week so we cannot reintroduce outside of their run. We have a small coop and run that is outside of the bigger coop and run, that we have been putting her in for a couple days, just for the day.

Today we gave the girls a treat and then put her in with them while distracted by food. At first it went well but once they realized she was new they ganged up on her. We are going to fence off a portion of their run, which is 15 by 16 ft, so that she is closer and they can get used to seeing each other. Is there anything else that I can do to make things go smoother?

 

[Mrs. K]

Make sure the run has hide outs and clutter. Places where birds can get away from other birds, out of sight of other birds. If that 15 x 16 ft run is just an open rectangle, ( a lot of runs are) where as each bird can see every other bird 100% of the time, you do not have enough clutter.

Add saw horses, ladders, chairs, small pieces of plywood, pallets up on blocks that birds can get under or on top of. Set up roosts that catch the western sun, they will love to bask there in the late afternoon. It will look cluttered to you, but much more interesting to chickens, and will make much better use of the third dimension of space, the vertical.

Add multiple feed bowls placed such that a bird eating at one bowl, cannot see a bird eating at another.

After 2-3 days of you single bird in the set aside area, put ONE bird from the flock, a bird about half way up the flock. There will probably be a dust up, but it is one on one, and should be shortly settled. Then depending on you flock numbers, add another bird for a day, and then let the trio go back to the coop that night. Adding three birds back is much easier, than adding a single bird.

Mrs K

 

[azygous]

She's not new, and the flock all remembers her. What has changed is the lineup in the pecking order in her absence. Putting her back with the flock triggers the pecking order to shift once again. Those that moved up a notch in her absence now must defend their new social positions against her wanting her old slot back. So you will see what appears to be a few low ranking chickens challenging her.

This isn't bullying or attacking a "stranger". If this returning hen was content to be lowest in rank for now, you wouldn't see any conflict. These skirmishes are usually quickly resolved. They may seem to go on and on, but it's really each chicken adjusting their rank as this flock member returns and demands her old slot back.

Stand back and let them work through it. As long as you don't see a bunch of little thugs attacking this returning hen all at once, thrashing her and stomping her into the dirt, it's just chicken business as usual and it will be over with much sooner if you will permit them to sort it out without interfering.