bongus Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 hi all our gingernut ranger deeley passed away today, what would be the situation with getting a new (or 2 new) chickens even though tweedy (our mrs pepperpot) is still with us? would they mix well, or would there be problems? any help appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackian Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 How sad about your Ginger ranger , I have never yet "touch wood" lost one of ours..But I do know from reading the forum on here a lone chicken is not usually a happy one. If that was me I would have to replace her and get another at the same time so that you are not again left with just one . I am sure some one with far more knowledge than me will be along soon to advise you more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I've not been in the position of being down to one yet (I suffer far too much from Morehens disease and numbers just keep going up ) but everyone on here is always saying if you are down to one get two more and do the intros carefully. I'm sure someone who has actually done it will be along shortly. Meanwhile have fun looking around for what breeds you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongus Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 if we got one or two new girls, would we just put them in with out existing hen? how would we go about it? not sure about the practicalities of it all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Sorry to hear about Deeley. When you get the new girls, they'll probably be young - it's not a good idea to mix straight in - if you mix old and young, there will be a fair bit of violence from the old one. We had a similar situation last year - what you can do is this: when you get the new girls, still keep them in quarantine for 2 weeks but as long as your existing girl can SEE the new hens, she won't feel too lonely. You can then take time to integrate properly (once the new girls are about 20 weeks old, you can then integrate, it'll take a few weeks - probs 3 to 5 weeks depending on how it goes). good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongus Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 hmmm with the one run and eglu not sure how i would separate them, ill have to have a think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 What others have done is put a cat box in the end of the run and divide the run with canes (lots of them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongus Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 yes, thats an idea. tweedy does look a bit lonely in the big old run on her own. its quite a sad image Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Sorry to hear about your girl, and well done on reparing to get some newbies. Your Old Girl will be very ungrateful to start with. Make sure you have at least 2 feeding stations and water stations, set as far apart as your setup will allow. This means that Tweedy won't be able to prevent them from eating & drinking. Remember that pecking, although horrible to see, is normal behaviour, it's their way of sorting things out. If blood is drawn through, be prepared to sort it out. Have some antipek spray and some Septiclense type stuff handy, just in case. Peace will break out eventually. Good luck Hazel (PS my brother calls me "Mrs TWeedie") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Sorry to hear re your girl - been a bad week for deaths. Ali x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
