Zero, One or Two

[unbaked pegga]

I am in a dilemma. Last summer I had seven hens. A raccoon got in the coop and killed all but two of them, and an injured one of them badly. So I have been nursing the injured one and she seem to be doing good until now, and I don’t know if she is eggbound. I don’t know what is wrong with her, but she literally is dragging her stomach on the ground. She will eat if I take the food to her and she’s very vocal but I don’t know if she’s suffering. If she dies, or I have to put her down that leaves me with one Orpington hen. She is very attached to the other hen. I am worried that if the other one dies that she will grieve her self to death . I have looked online to find some pullets, and I found some Orpington pullets , but if I get one and I have to quarantine it from the other one, will it be too stressful to have them separated one on one side and one on the other? Or I thought about getting two, but then you have to quarantine and two and the the existing chicken is outnumbered. So I don’t know whether just to leave it alone or or what. Does anyone have an opinion?

 

[azygous]

While you're deciding what to do, you might wish to read about integrating a new hen into a flock. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

Many people erroneously believe it's simple to solve a lonely hen problem by buying her a friend. It's not that easy. The new friend would in fact be viewed as an intruder, not instantly welcomed. There's a process where a newcomer is gradually absorbed into the existing pecking order. It can be stressful.

Far easier is to get a few baby chicks and brood them in proximity to the lonely hen(s). That way the newcomers are tiny and non-threatening and almost instantly accepted as members of the flock. As they grow, they gradually become full members of the pecking order and stress is minimal for all concerned. And there are no concerns about importing a disease into the flock, thereby eliminating the need for quarantine.