Will my Hen be too Lonely?

[nova022]

Does Fred have to be in the garage 24/7? Does he crow around the clock? Maybe he could be in the run with Ethel during the times he is quieter and she could be in the garage with him during his noisier periods. Chickens do need companionship from what I have read.

 

[r1forb]

I don't have chickens so have no experience to offer. You say that Ethyl is upset - I think you are in the best position to know if she is adjusting to being a solitary bird and just how upset she is. She is already essentially a solitary bird. Fred is not going back into the yard. So it sounds to me like you should start a quarantine for another bird or two. Spend extra time with Ethyl, maybe get a diaper and let her be a house chicken for a couple of hours a day.
Do you have room for Fred and quarantined hens?

Haha welllllll no room for Ethyl in the house....I do pitbull rescue as well

I have 5 pittie boys. 2 of them are really good with the chickens. 1 actually was the "protector" of the temp cage when I first brought them home, from the other boys (he's trained as a service dog) lol BUT anyway.
Right now we are bringing Ethyl in several hours a day to visit Fred. And I go out and spend lots of time with her. I do see she is sad though ...she runs after me when I try to leave the run and she no longer goes to bed on her own. She seems to be waiting for Fred. I have to go put her in the coop at night which I have never ever had to do. I was planning to go to the farm swap meet this Sat and find her a "friend" but that is still 30 days of quarantine for a new bird and my husband just said "NOWAY" is he dealing with Fred for another 30 days. I was going to try and hang in there but my husband is only home for the holidays and Fred is driving him insane crowing every 15 minutes!!!

. Soooooo I guess I have no options other than to spend lots of time with her the next 30 days and get her a friend this Sat. I hope to find someone willing to trade me a 5-6 mo old Hen for Fred since Ethyl is 5 mos. And in the spring I will have some BCM's so hopefully I will never have this problem again

...... lesson learned as a newbie I suppose.

 

[1muttsfan]

Chickens are very social creatures, and she will be very lonely and probably nervous on her own, since she has always had a companion. Maybe you could find someone with a spare hen that they could give/sell you to keep her company until your chicks grow out.

 

[r1forb]

Does Fred have to be in the garage 24/7? Does he crow around the clock? Maybe he could be in the run with Ethel during the times he is quieter and she could be in the garage with him during his noisier periods. Chickens do need companionship from what I have read.

Yes Fred has decided he loves the sound of his voice! He crows about every 15 minutes! Ethyl comes to visit him a lot inside and I got them a special uvb light so Fred is not completely lacking sunlight for now. He still gets his mealworms thrown in there and scratch so he acts like he does outside ..... And the enclosure inside is huge so they are happy .....just hubby is not lol.