Wanting to add another hen but fear for it and the others

[kraftykrow]

I had four lovely hens. 1 barred rock and 3 australorps. The barred rock was my favorite and she suddenly passed away. I'm not sure what she died of, but both of her sisters passed at about 9 months old two years ago mysteriously. I had both the 3 barred rocks as pullets about 3 months old. I'm suspecious now that something might have been wrong with them by birth, but I don't know why two died within a month of each other and then the last one survived a whole year. She had messed up feet, maybe a birth defect, but she walked fine.

Anyway, on to my point. I basically just 'threw in' the 3 juvenile australorps with the barred rock since it was 3 to one and the barred rock was friendly enough. She established the pecking order then all was fine. Well, I really miss the barred rock and I liked having 4. I know there are issues introducing one bird to 3, even if the australorps don't show any signs of violence, but they also all grew up together. I'd be adding a full grown, laying hen with them. I really don't want to have more than 4 birds due to the space I have (16 sq ft coop and 232 sq ft run). Is there anyway this might work?

The other fear is the new girl passing on a disease to my 3 girls or vice versa. So is there anyway this might work or should I just stick with 3.

 

[Lovem all]

You can defintely add just one. I see a lot of people who fear it bu its perfectly fine. I have the same breeds as you.. I think austrolorps are a tad more aggressive then barreds so that would be my only concern. The pecking order would take care of it's self and you'd end up fine. As far as the three having a sickness i'm not sure why they would. How were their vents, combs, and the weather when they passed. Also I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[azygous]

A necropsy of a dead chicken can tell you what she died of. This is especially important if you've had a history in your flock of mysterious deaths. From the symptoms and age of the victims I would guess Marek's could be in your flock, or since the Australorps have been resistant to becoming sick, it could be lymphoid leucosis. In each virus, the age at which it usually kills is the age of your victims.

Unfortunately, quarantine cannot detect or prevent transmission of an avian virus since a chicken can carry it but not show symptoms. It's a risk you take introducing an adult chicken to your flock.

Apart from the disease aspect, you can introduce a new hen to your existing flock by following my plan in this article. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

 

[Whigru]

So sorry for your loss! We had to rehome our barred rock and while it’s not the same, she was our family favorite and it was tough to see her go.
We did try adding another bird to the mix earlier this year and it was definitely rough. We originally had the Barred rock and a Rhode Island Red, but Red was just way too loud for our neighborhood and I constantly worried about neighbors getting upset. We rehomed her and got another bird as a trade. My barred rock (who was about a year old) was VERY aggressive toward this new hen and was constantly harassing her. She was always chasing her, pulling feathers, bullying her from food and water. It went on this way for 6 weeks until we finally decided to give the hen back to her original owners. At the same time, we were also trying to introduce two chicks (7-8wks) and my barred rock went crazy with them, too. And it was just her against the babies at this point and she was ruthless no matter how much we tried to keep them separate but visible. In the end, this behavior led to her rehoming. I guess, my long winded answer is just to say that I would be concerned about adding one to an existing flock of 3. I have a friend who said her australorps are pretty aggressive but I know it depends on the bird. I’m sure you COULD do it but it would have to be handled carefully. Good luck!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

but I don't know why two died within a month of each other and then the last one survived a whole year. She had messed up feet, maybe a birth defect, but she walked fine.

What are you feeding?

Disease is a risk not worth taking to me. And adding in an already grown hen isn't doing anything to replace the ones you lost.. their personalities are individual.

Add in new pullets/chick then next year to provide eggs when the older birds go into molt.. and maybe re-home a couple of your Australorp to maintain your space. I love Rocks.