4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[SilverC]

I've had my 3 x Warrens for 3 years now relatively problem free unil 3 weeks ago, when Delia started to drop weight and just start to look, well, old. She ended up with a chest infection and although she seemed to be responding to the antibiotics, she sadly died.

 

This left Margaret (the boss) and her companion Loretta, who have always been best friends. About a week ago, although she maintained her weight and was still eating and everything normally, Margaret started to apear old in the face hard to explain, but just her comb seemed to shrivel and her eyes looked tired. There was no sign of snuffles or anything, but we brought her in yesterday, and she did seem to brighten up, but when I checked on her at 10pm she had sadly died.

 

This leaves Loretta a lone hen which is not ideal, so I made a few calls and have managed to get another lone hen Rusty, and although it goes against all advice with introducing gradually etc, they are now both in the run together. Loretta went up to Rusty and put her eye at the side of hers, looking at her for ages, did a little gentle peck and is now just walking round the whole run, garden, coop, everywhere calling away. She's looking through the garage window, the house windows, everywhere and is clearly distressed, it';s like she's calling and searching for Margaret, and sadly the new hen has no idea what kind of response Margaret would have given.

 

It really is like she is pining/grieving for her friend. Do hens do this? Will the new pair ever be friends? The new girl incidentally couldn't give a hoot! She was previously on her own in a small run as no-one had bought her, and doesn't seem bothered about being alone or being with a new friend. She has also discovered grass and mealworms, oh, and flight, so her feathers have been snipped as she is really good at flying, but that's a whole new story!

 

It's really awful, loretta just seems so sad. Have I done the right thing getting the new 'emergency' bird, will she ever befriend her? I'm just worried the upset will finish Loretta off too, although her comb etc is still bright red, and she appears good in all other ways.

 

My eventual plan is to (after Xmas) get two new birds, possibly a Wyandotte or Vorwerk and a Buff Orpington, but I just want these two to settle first.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Poor Loretta, how sad . I've certainly read posts on the forum of chickens who appear to grieve for their lost friends. My girls however don't even seem to notice when their number decreases by one .

 

It's great that your two are getting along fine. Hens do need company so I'm sure it's better for both of them.

[Salop Chuck]

Hi SilverC

The answer is YES - hens can and do grieve for a lost companion. I had two omlet hens that were inseparable and when sadly one of them had to be euthanised because of a large tumour the remaining one, Saffie, was aboslutely bereft . She looked everywhere in the garden where they used to hang out together, spent hours moping under bushes barely eating or drinking and for a few days I had to bring her in and syringe feed her to keep her strength up. I did have other hens and bantams but she would have nothing to do with them. After 3-4 months she finally succumed to the same tumour and was PTS . It was very distressing watching her decline and while hindsight is a fine thing, I think it would have been kinder if she had gone at the same time as her friend.

 

Having said all that each one is an individual and we have to try to do the best for our hens since we don't know how each one deals with loss. You did the right thing, therefore, getting another hen and I hope in time your sad hen will recover and learn to get on with her new companion.

 

Hugs and good wishes

[SilverC]

Thanks everyone. I've been out this morning just sat with Loretta and she has hopped up onto my knee, and seems happy with my company. Rusty, the newbie is just happy mooching about everywhere, and has even laid us an egg, which was nice of her, our original three gave up laying in the Summer.

 

Just looking at her through the window, she seems to have calmed down a bit, and although is still looking under the shrubs and in corners, she is just chunnering now rather than doing the crowing sound. Fingers crossed Rusty's company does this trick.

 

Thanks everyone, I feel rather sad. Need to re-think age gaps and lifespans with the bringing together of a new colony, but as these were my first hens, I went for ease of looking after, hence choosing Warrens, and they have been exactly as described.

[Cooks]

Yes they do grieve I had two orp sisters, lost Pepsi and Bumble struggled for weeks bless her, lots of extra treats and cuddles helped but they didn't replace her sister. The children then bought me two hybrids for Mothers Day this year and she's now latched onto those as she's a calm quiet girl and they were newbies.

 

Good luck with it xxxx

[majuka]

As others have said, they do grieve for lost companions. You have done the right thing by getting her a new friend. She may not appreciate her right now but she will settle.

 

I was in a very similar situation myself recently, I had one girl pts due a tumour and another due to peritonitis just 8 days later. We were left with one lone hen and, following recommendation on here, I got her two lovely new POL hens. While they were free ranging they got on very well but for a week or ten days or so Jemima got quite bossy when they were in the run. We also briefly wondered if we had done the right thing. Jemima was only on her own from the Tuesday afternoon to the Friday afternoon before the new girls arrived but quite quickly she had become very anxious. She would come to the patio doors and tap on it with her beak and cry Ella and Esmerelda came to live with her on 2 December and they are a really close little flock now. Hang on in there, she will be better off with company.

[JanTheDiver]

I would say yes as when I lost Ginger, one of my original RIR's, her best friend (Carrot - they went everywhere together) definitely looked around for her for at least two weeks; it was quite sad to see

 

They were very close though.

[hilda-and-evadne]

My four original hens that all arrived at the same time nearly three years ago were suddenly reduced to two in a matter of six weeks but neither of the two remaining hens has shown any sign whatsoever of grieving for the two that died. (One died of heart failure, the other probably had a tumour between her crop and her digestive system.)

 

I did expect the Light Sussex to show signs of missing the Maran but, from the next day onwards, she actually behaved as if she thought that her quality of life had dramatically improved, and she doesn't much like the other remaining original hen (the Leghorn).

 

When each of the two hens died, I made a point of showing their corpses to the others who all pecked at the beak of the dead hen (so I took it away at that point). I don't know if that made any difference.

[gongladosh]

Yep, they grieve.

 

With our first lot, when the top hen (Kent) died Kiki, her best friend jumped onto my girlfriend's lap and buried her head at the point of Kent's death. Kiki then hopped into what was then a spare Cube and sat gently clucking to herself for 15 minutes. It's a cluck I've not heard before or since - I'm pretty certain she was crying.

 

When Kiki herself died of peritonitis 6 months later, the others we'd added to her didn't want to leave her on her own on her last day. They were pretty subdued once she was gone.

 

Your girl will be down for a few days - give her extra love and treats and get her some new friends. I don't think they ever forget their friends, but they do move on eventually.

[SilverC]

Well the emergency hen (Rusty) certainly did the trick. After 3 days of calling for her old friends, Loretta took a dustbath with Rusty and they started grooming together.

Their alliance has been strengthened after the arrival of two beautiful Barnevelder pullets yesterday (Whisky and Brandy). There has been a few squabbles but all rather half hearted.

 

It's true what they say though in that 'birds of a feather flock together' - it's comical to watch how they have both joined forces into two separate 'crews'. So glad I took the plunge and got her some new friends, it's certainly worked.

 

My eye was also caught by some beautiful Vorwerks that the breeder had for sale, but I resisted. They are rather beautiful though.

[Cheeky Chooky]

Lovely to read that everything is working out well