Rogue Hen in The Backyard

[Lunachick]

Good luck with your new hen!

After you build/buy a new little henhouse for her, you have to add a friend or two. What's two more, after all? I'm glad you are going to care for her.

Oh, and welcome to BYC !!

 

[rebecca10782]

I think that is so sweet that you are going to build her her own little house, I wish everyone were like you

 

[horsejody]

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SHHHHHH!! Don't scare the newbies!! Soon the OP will be one of us.

 

[EliteTempleton]

While getting Rogue a friend or two is probably a good idea there is alot to consider with her situation.

Most importantly "LittleRogueHen" is likely unaware of pecking orders being that her only poultry experience is removing them from the house.

Also it sounds like this chicken is wild, so some extra care should be given.

I'd probably start by building a coop and simply putting scratch around and inside for the first day, or days, just depending on how it went. Having a feeder and waterer inside would not be a bad thing though.

While also feeding treats as CarriBrown suggested to gain trust.

Then when all is going well, buy some(one or two) laying hens of a similar size and wait until nightfall, then place them all on the roost so they just wake up together. Avoiding small ones being picked on and the early morning introduction method seems to work well in my experience.

I would not think a Rooster would be needed with this flock unless wanted, as Rouge obviously already has good survival skills and would certainly warn the others if danger were nearby, once they became a good flock anyway.

Good luck, and we are here to help.

 

[dastardlydeed]

okay now............im dying to hear about the new chicken house and how the rouge hen is making out!

 

[chickenannie]

Your rogue hen is probably fine living on her own except for possible predators and cold. You can always take your chances with her, let her keep going it alone and feeding her treats, but if you want to ensure her survival you could follow the suggestions alone. I don't know enough about your area to know if she'd have predators or not.

Also my bantams are much better at finding high-up, safe roosting areas than my egg-layers. They seem to have more street smarts. Is she small/petite, or is she a big fluffy thing?

I had a rogue hen show up at my farm one day, who slept in the barn for several months, and now just joins the other hens in the henhouse every night. I've just decided to adopt her. I guess she just like to follow the chickens in at night.

To find out where your hen roosts, wait till about an hour before sundown, she'll gradually peck closer and closer to home until it twilight, when she'll go to her roost. Could be well hidden though.

 

[CarriBrown]

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We look forward to the pictures!