Separated a chicken, was vastly unprepared

[_dizzy_]

This is more of a rant than anything, but do eventually ask questions. TLDR at bottom.

So I'm embarrassed and quite ashamed of myself for not being prepared for the scenario of my cross speak not being able to stay outside during late fall and winter. I knew she wasn't growing a thick enough coat to be able to be fine during the cold weather and I have waited up until half an hour ago to make space for her.

Last night the temperature dropped down to 26°F then snowed and she was in the insulated coop with the others. When I opened the coop in the morning it was pretty warm in there, above freezing. Definitely still below freezing outside, so I watched them to see how everyone would hold up since this is most of my flocks first time experiencing below freezing and snow.

My crossbeak, Esmeralda, started to shiver pretty soon while the others handled the cold mostly with grace.
I brought her in soon after and blocked off one of the units to my massive rat cage for her and have yet to figure out how to secure a water bowl that she won't be able to tip(she likes to put her weight on the side of bowls while drinking).

The cage is 3' x 2'(and there's 5 more of these units for my rats) and as much as I want to take another member of the flock to have her with, I think the other hen will get stressed and over peck her. She's kinda always been the loner hen in the flock though, so I have a feeling she'll be fine solo for the winter and early spring. Next time I clean the rat cage I'll take out some side panels and rearrange so she has the three bottom units and the rats have the top three. That'll be 9' x 2'

There's only 7 rats so three units will be plenty of space(used to have 22 so that why I have so much cage space) and giving her the bottom three will open up the opportunity for her to have a chicken friend. Though I still think one of my other hens would be stressed in this situation and may peck her. They're all larger than her and have proven dominance over her. I guess what I'm trying to lead up to is, should I get a young pullet with no dominance over her and should it be a bantam that won't be larger than her?

Follow up question, when it's time to reintroduce her to the flock in late spring will the bantam get along fine with my other hens and roos or will they bully her for being so small? Esmeralda stands up to bullying when it gets too rough, but will the bantam be able to?
I've heard yes from folks shopping at the tsc I used to work at and I've heard no from folks online.

TLDR: Crossbeak hen didn't grow a good winter coat and is now an indoor bird till late spring. Going to expand cage sometime soon to 9' x 2' which will give space for a friend. Should friend be a Bantam to reduce the bullying? Will bantam get along with other flock members in late spring or be bullied way too much? Crossbeak hen gets bullied, but can stand up to it when it gets too rough, but bantams are small so can it defend itself? I've heard yes from shoppers in tsc and I've heard no from folks online.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Personally, no, I would not take a productive member from its flock to house with her. She'll be o.k. by herself.

Depending on how easy it is for her to drink, a water station like this may work well for your cage for her. https://www.amazon.com/RentACoop-Au...00934&sprefix=rent+a+coop+wat,aps,236&sr=8-15

 

[Aunt Angus]

Love the above waterer. I have it for my special needs coop, which houses 2 Polish pullets. Very easy to fill. Birds figured it out right away.

Off topic (kind of): Why is she developing so poorly? Is she not eating enough because her beak is interfering? Just curious.

Also, does it get super cold where you are? My temps are about the same here, and my birds do great without heat or insulation. Just curious. I've seen both schools of thought on here.

 

[NatJ]

I guess what I'm trying to lead up to is, should I get a young pullet with no dominance over her and should it be a bantam that won't be larger than her?

Maybe? I don't know for sure.

Follow up question, when it's time to reintroduce her to the flock in late spring will the bantam get along fine with my other hens and roos or will they bully her for being so small? Esmeralda stands up to bullying when it gets too rough, but will the bantam be able to?

It depends on the temperatment of the bantam. Sometimes they end up at the top of the pecking order, sometimes the bottom, sometimes in-between.

The difficulty I see is that a bantam that will stand up well to the other chickens might pick on your crossbeak, and one that doesn't pick on the crossbeak might get bullied by the other hens.

I can't say what would be best, just mentioning things to consider.

 

[_dizzy_]

Depending on how easy it is for her to drink, a water station like this may work well for your cage for her.
View attachment 3322281

It wouldn't hurt to get this and try. She's got a pretty severe case. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[_dizzy_]

Off topic (kind of): Why is she developing so poorly? Is she not eating enough because her beak is interfering? Just curious.

Also, does it get super cold where you are? My temps are about the same here, and my birds do great without heat or insulation. Just curious. I've seen both schools of thought on here.

I'm not entirely sure why she didn't develop feathers well. She does have a pretty serious cross beak(her tongue sticks out and shrivels up, it's really weird and keeps growing as it shrivels away). However, she can fill up her crop pretty well. some nights it looks like it might burst!
This is her first winter with me(I'm not sure how long her last home had her, but I suspect this is her first winter entirely). I make a big bowl of mash for the whole flock(since they just eat all her mash anyway) every single day. And as cold weather was approaching and they were molting I added extra protein to the mash via chick feed and mealworms. I also added some black oil sunflower seeds, nutri-drench(once a week), and vitamin B(also once a week, 3 days after drench) to assist them in egg development and feather growth.

And it gets close to 0°F where I live. This is only my second winter in WNC, last year the coldest night was 4°. Last year I provided heat to my hens when it dropped below 10°, but they also had no insulation and it was just 4 girls. This year I'm not providing heat, but still wanted to provide extra help in the form of cheap insulation. It's like silvery bubble wrap.

 

[_dizzy_]

It depends on the temperatment of the bantam. Sometimes they end up at the top of the pecking order, sometimes the bottom, sometimes in-between.

The difficulty I see is that a bantam that will stand up well to the other chickens might pick on your crossbeak, and one that doesn't pick on the crossbeak might get bullied by the other hens.

I can't say what would be best, just mentioning things to consider.

Well, a full 24 hours have gone by. She seems to be doing alright by herself. She was never particularly close to anyone in the flock, but she generally hung out by the flock so I was worried she might take being alone hard.
She doesn't seem to mind all that much. And let me tell you, when she minds something she's vocal about it. If I take too long making mash, she jumps up on something next to me and complains in my ear.
When I'm putting coconut oil in her feathers she talks the whole time. If I'm collecting egg or disturb her while she laying she speaks up. When she's calm and relaxed she has nothing to say and she's been pretty quiet. She ate her breakfast and dinner, drank(and luckily didn't tip the bowl) her water, and she's been just chilling in her cage.
Though I suspect she'll get sick of being locked up pretty soon as she's used to free range.
I'll try to take her out on warmer days and try to let her wander the house(if our puppy won't be a problem child that is )

 

[Aunt Angus]

She's a lucky little chicken! I know my Polish, who needed serious care, has grown very attached to me.

You know, my Polish suffered an eye injury that left her without an eye and small for her age. I decided to get her another special needs friend and house them separately from my big flock - very similar reasons. Her friend is another Polish who has a slipped tendon that couldn't be fixed. It's worked out beautifully! They live in a little coop in my front yard so I can access them easily (Twiggy needs her nails and beak trimmed regularly and anti-inflammatories when her hock swells). You might consider something similar - get another crossbeak or other special needs bird.

Here are Myrtle (partially blind) and Twiggy (leg deformity).

 

[_dizzy_]

You might consider something similar - get another crossbeak or other special needs bird.

This is actually the reason I got Esmeralda. I had a pullet with a crocked neck that twisted nearly 90° to the left. I got her for free(and bought her a couple friends) while working at TSC due to her deformity and treated her for wry neck. The older flock members and my roosters rejected her so I separated her and around the same time Esmeralda went up on craigslist for re-home.
Unfortunately that hens neck never got better(it actually got worse around 3 months or so) and she passed.
No one was rejecting Esmeralda so I just let her be with the main flock instead of searching for another disabled hen.
I might consider another disable hen if she's not welcomed back into the flock come spring time

 

[Aunt Angus]

This is actually the reason I got Esmeralda. I had a pullet with a crocked neck that twisted nearly 90° to the left. I got her for free(and bought her a couple friends) while working at TSC due to her deformity and treated her for wry neck. The older flock members and my roosters rejected her so I separated her and around the same time Esmeralda went up on craigslist for re-home.
Unfortunately that hens neck never got better(it actually got worse around 3 months or so) and she passed.
No one was rejecting Esmeralda so I just let her be with the main flock instead of searching for another disabled hen.
I might consider another disable hen if she's not welcomed back into the flock come spring time

You are so kind-hearted!
❤