where to put the feeder??

[stjemmes]

This is my first chicken and we recently bought her a coop with five nesting boxes. The floor is wire except where her hay is in the nesting boxes. She has a roost in there aswell. I don't have an area outide that is protected from rain and what not so I hung her feeder inside the coop. Is it ok to keep it seperate from her water and in the coop with her?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I do that frequently, but I make sure that as soon as it is light out they are released from the coop so they can drink. I have a problem with mold in the coops with water in there. Most times I have the food outside as well (stored in a metal pail at night).

They might choke if left with no water for long when it is light and they are eating.

I hope you can get her a friend as they get desperately lonely if alone.

 

[Davian]

Why only one bird?

 

[stjemmes]

I only have one hen because her friend passed away several months ago.

Back in early spring my daughter's school hatched eggs and one of the chicks had a broken leg from getting caught in the cage over night. The other chicks tried to peck it to death and the school could seperate them. So I offered to take the chick home since I had been planning on getting chicks and what not for laying hens latter anyway. I took the chick home and then went to the feed store for food and supplies. The feed store told me I should get a younger chick to put in with the hurt chick to keep it from being lonely. So I did. The hurt chick lived for several months only to die one night without knowing why. By this point both birds where fully feathered and basically full grown. I didn't go out and get another chicken because my dad was staying with us until he passed away in July from cancer. We bought a new house Sept.30th and moved her over to the new house and in her new coop last weekend. She Layed her first egg Oct. 1st ... the day we moved. Mind you we went back to the old house everyday to check on her and get her egg. She has transitioned to the new house, yard and coop perfectly.

What do you think is the best way to bring in a new chicken for her to be friends with?? Mind you she is very social and kinda acts like a dog in the sense that she loves to talk to us and gets very excited the minute she hears us open the back screen door. She loves to be held and loved on too.

 

[DiannaMM]

I would get two or three hens for your lonely one. And start out by keeping them separated but able to see each other and visit just to make sure they all will be nice to each other. Chickens can be mean.
Also by having an additional two or three they will help keep each other warm in the colder weather.

 

[JodyJo]

Is there any way to put a small water in her coop with her at night, at least in case you don't get out there early enough to give her a drink, she can get to it?

To integrate in a new chicken or two...is tricky in the least...they have to be kept separate for a couple weeks, then slower let out together, there is pecking and fighting, a pecking order has to be established, but once it is, it's cool beans!
Here is a pic of what I did with my 3 EE pullets...they are now a separate but together with the rest of the flock, does that make sense? They are their own flock, so to say, they rarely mingle, tired of getting pecked at, even though they are now almost full grown...

( I kept the little ones in the case, inside the coop, let the big girls outside the run, to free range, then let the little ones out to the run...then at night, put the little ones back inside the cage, and then let the older ones back inside...I did this for several weeks, they could see each other but couldn't get to each other. Its a pain, but its the only way I found, and many others, that works...)

 

[stjemmes]

I put the water and food in the coop since I can't get out to the coop 1st thing in the morning sometimes. Should I also have water outside or is she good with being able to always go in and out of her coop during the day?

My husbands boss came by the other day and says is has several different stages of birds to pick from. We asked for a few that had fully feathered to put with our girl. Is there a round about age difference that works best when adding two or more girls in with a hen that has spent several months by herself???