When to introduce to flock?

[TheRealWitwiki]

So my chick that hatched this year is a little over 11 weeks old. I can definitely tell it is a hen and has been fully feathered for some time now. Her name is Winter and she is an only survivor of about 7 eggs. She is about half the size of my other hens maybe even a little smaller. So when should I put her in with everyone else? There are 9 hens and a rooster in the main flock. Winter has a stall next to everyone else so they see her every day and when I bring her outside she stands next to their pen. I'm worried that maybe she will be picked on by the other hens or even terrorized by our rooster. I know she has to go in sooner or later. Her mother was reintroduced about a month ago and there were plenty of hen fights for a few days. Any advice would be great. Thanks!

 

[azygous]

You will need to integrate her as an adult new chicken. Here's how I do it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

If you simply toss her in to fend for herself, it won't be pretty. Introducing a single hen gradually is best. The hen in my article was a rescue, and it took her three weeks of gradually being exposed to the pecking order, and she was fully accepted.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You will need to integrate her as an adult new chicken. Here's how I do it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

If you simply toss her in to fend for herself, it won't be pretty. Introducing a single hen gradually is best. The hen in my article was a rescue, and it took her three weeks of gradually being exposed to the pecking order, and she was fully accepted.

X2....the single bird issue is the big hurdle here.
Do you have a "mid level" bird you can introduce now and allow them to buddy up so you can have more than just her to put in the flock when the time comes? The low bird is a tempting but poor choice....low birds can often be the most aggressive to new birds as newcomers represent someone to dominate and secure not being under even more birds in the pecking order.

 

[TheRealWitwiki]

You will need to integrate her as an adult new chicken. Here's how I do it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

If you simply toss her in to fend for herself, it won't be pretty. Introducing a single hen gradually is best. The hen in my article was a rescue, and it took her three weeks of gradually being exposed to the pecking order, and she was fully accepted.

Thank you for the great advice! That was a great story and Edith is a beautiful hen. My daughter has a Buff Orpington it's at my bosses house with our first batch of chickens we ever bought. Now that we have land we have raised a flock of Rhode Island Reds. I'm excited to try to implement what I learned from your article to get this little hen acclimated. Thanks again!

 

[TheRealWitwiki]

You will need to integrate her as an adult new chicken. Here's how I do it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

If you simply toss her in to fend for herself, it won't be pretty. Introducing a single hen gradually is best. The hen in my article was a rescue, and it took her three weeks of gradually being exposed to the pecking order, and she was fully accepted.

So I took your advice and made a temporary pen and placed it inside of my main chicken pen today. So far so good. There has been no aggression towards the small hen only curiosity. I'm going to try this for a few days before I gradually place her with other birds. Thanks!