Chicken bald back

[Hollykins24]

Hi fellow chicken lovers,

 

I've enjoyed the company of two Maram hens over the last four years but sadly one of them died (Gill) a few days ago leaving behind her rather lonely sister. I would like to introduce some new birds but I'm worried about the effect of two new POL birds on the older one (her name is Linda). I'd be grateful for advice as I would ideally like to build the number of my flock up gradually but want to try and do it with minimal stress to all concerned.

 

Any advice gratefully received.

Patricia

[AndyRoo]

Oh no! Sorry to hear about your loss!

 

I did a lot of this debating when we got our hens and in the end I came to the conclusion that it would be best if we bought all the hens we wanted in one go and then introduced them all at the same time.

 

I imagine if you introduce new hens there will be some pecking and a bit of a flurry while the pecking order is established, but it'll settle down soon enough.

 

I don't know if maybe removing your current hen and putting her in a box and then cleaning out the coop and changing things round in the run etc. might confuse her and make her forget she lived there. That way when you reintroduce them they may all see it as being on equal ground as it were?

[Hollykins24]

Many thanks for your advice, it seems like I just have to bite the bullet and get on with it! I'd like to build up to about 6-8 hens eventually, and what you're saying makes sense. I'll keep the gentian violet spray at the ready just in case but the sight of one solitary hen scratching around the garden is just a little sad.

[AndyRoo]

Many thanks for your advice, it seems like I just have to bite the bullet and get on with it! I'd like to build up to about 6-8 hens eventually, and what you're saying makes sense. I'll keep the gentian violet spray at the ready just in case but the sight of one solitary hen scratching around the garden is just a little sad.

 

My MiL had 4 hens, and one died, so she then added another three - so you certainly can do it, but she said there were a few days of loud squawking and fighting before they settled down.

 

See what other people think as I am sure there'll be a whole range of advice.

 

We decided that we are going to wait for a couple of the birds to die off before adding more, but then we will be going with the "add 3-4 at once and hope for the best method!"

[The Dogmother]

Have a look at the introductions sticky in the FAQ section - tons of advice there.

[percy049]

Sorry to hear about your loss

 

Introductions for the first time is very daunting but when you've done it once it becomes a lot easier!

Probably best to only add 2 to begin with given there is only one existing hen, and she will peck the new ones for the first few weeks

Keep them apart for a while but so they can see eachother and get used to it. Personally, when I've introduced new chickens I've kept them in a box overnight in the house or garage for a week or so before they stopped being picked on before letting them sleep in the house together (there are lots of different ways). Having 2 feeding stations would also be a good idea

In the long run Linda will be a lot happier having some other chickens to play with

[Hollykins24]

Many thanks all for the advice and reassurance. Sorry it's taken me a while to reply but I've been laid low by some springtime bug Am now back in action and collected two POL hens this morning. Lots of squawking going on at the moment - I think Linda is just laying down the law for the newcomers (jingle and Bell!). I'm keeping them separate in the run and I'll wait until after dark before putting the new girls into the coop tonight and, tomorrow, as they say, is another day! Fingers crossed - it's a great way to spend my Easter break! Again, many thanks for all the support.

[Hollykins24]

Update

 

Amazingly my two new girls (Jingle and Bell) have managed to rapidly (after just a few hours) ingratiate themselves with Linda despite a few sharp pecks and loud squawking. I was probably more nervous about the whole process than the hens who just got on with sorting things out. Thanks for the advice

[sarkymite]

Cool, sounds like it's going well for you. Glad I'm not the only one who's spent my Easter break listening to squawking and flapping

Having new fluffy chickens in the coop is so exciting isn't it?!

[Hollykins24]

Now it's dark, all is quiet in the coop and I couldn't resist a quick peep and there were both the new girls huddled together in a corner of the coop having ignored the perch...the poor wee mites, it's been a big day for them and who knows what tomorrow will bring It's good to know that there are other folk trying to placate our feathery friends!

[sarkymite]

I couldnn't resist a peek in at mine either and tonight all 4 of them are trying to sleep in exactly the same spot. Which happens to be the nest. There's just this huge floofy mass of tail feathers in 4 different colours. These are the same birds who studiously avoided each other all day... Silly birds

I'm letting it slide for now on the basis that they've got enough to think about this week but if they don't sort it out I'll have to start putting a flowerpot over the nest at night I think.