Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[jackian]

I have introduced chickens 3 times now in twos and each time it has got easier but now I have taken on a chicken that belonged to a friend as she was being bullied and has no feathers on her neck and has had a bloody comb .

Where she was she was in a smallish WIR and never got out although she has been well cared for and loved , but no where to hide..

 

I decided to take her on .I have had her 24 hours now and she has been as good as gold separated by a door which splits my WIR in two .Her one side and my 4 girls the other although my others have been FR .

This morning one of my old girls a ginger ranger Bonny screamed and protested for three hours but it stopped about mid day .I know this is normal as she has done this protest thing before when you introductions are made .

The question is what do I do next ..Do I do it exactly like I would if I was introducing 2?

By the way she is just lovely and is a Chalkhill blue and has laid a lovely blue egg this morning in her little make shift coup which is a small dog kennel.

My idea is to keep her where she is till the weekend and then lock all the others out of the run and let her have the whole run for a while while the others are FR .

I introduced two new girls a couple of months ago and they get on very well with my old two but I think there will be a few feathers flying with my new Bluebell who is bottom chick .

Help please as I am nervous about this . Any advice gratefully received .

 

Jackie x

[gavclojak]

No help I am afraid but good on you helping out like that. How kind of you., maybe Paula the lovely lady who took hen solo from me when she was bullied may be able to help. She was fab and hen solo is now happy with her new flock:) x

[jimnpaula]

Hiya, Paula here. This is what I did.

 

Initially Hen Solo was kept indoors during the night and had her own run during the day (except when the weather was awful) just to let her wounds heal a little. This also gave her a chance to get to know us, and to learn that there are other chickens about as they free ranged around her run. Then we put the main run divider in and installed her in the eglu end.

 

I had the advantage of a selection of hens to pair Solo up with, so I chose my wimpiest hen Nimbus. They tolerated each other for over a week before a thaw in relations. The others were a bit squashed in the cube end, so I put another low ranking hen, Sprite, in with Nimbus and Solo. They lived happily together for at least a week before the next change.

 

Still a bit of a squash at the cube end, so I moved the 4 middle girls to the eglu end and put the low ranking trio into the cube end with the Top Hen and 2nd in Command. I figured that the top girls and bottom girls knew their place so there should be little fighting to ensure the pecking order. This seemed to work. This arrangement stayed for about 2 weeks.

 

Then, one day the divider disappeared, the run floor got a good rake about, both houses cleaned out, perches and feeders/drinkers moved, and everyone brown or black got sprayed with anti-peck. The girls seemed much happier once the divider came down as it gave more freedom to move about.

 

The whole process took 4 to 6 weeks. Hen Solo has been accepted as part of the flock, although a low ranking. She has regrown most of her feathers but still has a bald bottom, which someone decided to peck over the weekend and made it bleed. I am now the proud owner of some Stockholm Tar which seems to have reduced the level of attack.

 

Had an interesting moment on Tuesday: Solo was indoors to avoid getting more injured and for a bath. She decided she wanted to lay her egg and spotted the tray of eggs destined for a coffee morning and started standing on them and tukk-ing!

[jackian]

Thank you both for your replies but I have two pairs so not really one that I could put in with Blossom . I had considered this .I had considered putting my newest girl Bluebell with her who is bottom of my newest pair but every time she sees her through the wire she wants to have a go at her .(obviously because she feels that Blossom will overtake her )

I am prepared to take as long as it takes and Blossom seems to be quite content at the moment to be on her own . I might put a few more high bits in with her to keep her happy ,Would that be a good idea?

 

Jackie x

[jimnpaula]

Yes, I did have an advantage of plenty of girls to choose from.

A bottom hen, in my experience, is either feisty or wimpy and you obviously don't want to set out for a fight. Have you got a good natured top hen? I have noticed Solo tends to run to the top hens if she's being picked on, and they in turn peck down the aggressor.

 

Maybe free ranging together and living seperately but next to each other for some time will result in sufficient familiarity, so that when the divider finally comes down no-one notices?

 

Or maybe get her a young friend so you have a pair...

[Olly]

I would just proceed as you would for two, carry on letting them see each other but not make contact, until the screaming and shouting has died down, then try letting them free range together. Slow and steady is best.

 

No matter how long the introduction period, when you do eventually put the new hen in with the others there will still be some shouting and barging and newhen is likely to hide behind the Eglu/under the table/in a corner for a while, that's normal and as long as she's not being badly pecked it will sort itself out.