can one chicken live happily on it's own?

sallylouise · « **on:** September 15, 2010, 20:38 »

Hello fellow chicken keepers,
so I had 3 chickens but sadly 2 have died not sure of what I think the last one died of a nervous system related illness (if that makes sense) as she was twitching her head quite alot and her balance seemed a bit off she found it difficult getting up to bed as she had to go up a ramp and she fell over a couple of times.I have no idea why the other one died as I was away when it happened and she seemed fine when I left ( all are regulary wormed and red mited) So anyway I now only have one chicken left and I want to know if she will be ok, I don't want to go down the road of getting more but I am also a bit reluctant to rehome her as I had a chicken that was henpecked last year and it was horific and I don't want her to go through that. Any one had just the one chicken before? also what is the life span of a chicken?
thanks for reading, sally ;>)

bantam novice · « **Reply #1 on:** September 15, 2010, 21:04 »

From what I have read and heard a chicken needs company. I'm sure that more expert people will be along to advise you. Good luck!

tesni · « **Reply #2 on:** September 15, 2010, 21:19 »

I think an only chicken is a lonely chicken. They naturally flock together for safety and feel stressed if they are alone. I know you feel protective but the upheaval of settling in with new chickens is probably less than the extended anxiety of being alone ....

Kym503 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 16, 2010, 00:13 »

Sally Louise where aer you based? Maybe someone has a chicken they could let you have or could re home yours. They really are best in company.

Jeanette · « **Reply #4 on:** September 16, 2010, 12:34 »

I am sorry but chickens really need company to keep them happy.

sallylouise · « **Reply #5 on:** September 16, 2010, 13:32 »

hi thanks for the reply's I think I will have to rehome her i need someone who is a experienced chicken keeper, I live in Camberley Surrey so if anyone knows of anyone please let me know
thanks

tesni · « **Reply #6 on:** September 16, 2010, 16:29 »

I'm sure if you post in the poultry swap shop someone will be able to help you out - bound to be somebody nearby. Good luck and I hope you get more one day

ps If you put your location on your profile that will help (if done sorry to nag, already doing reply and didn't check before I leapt in)

EJCTM · « **Reply #7 on:** September 17, 2010, 01:16 »

Just a thought - it might be easier to settle in a group of hens with her at your house than for her to settle in as a lone new hen into another group.

What I mean is, if you got more hens, say at least 3 or 4 then that would be a whole new group to form together WITH your hen and the pecking order would have to be established from scratch with none of them at a disadvantage. If your hen is rehomed then she will be likely to be the only one trying to integrate into an established group and might be much more prone to being bullied. I might be wrong, and I am sure someone with more experience will tell me if I am, but it is just a theory.

What is more, you will gain the pleasure of owning and caring for another flock (and the eggs!) which might give you a much more positive experience than you have had so far. It also gives you an opportunity to experiment with different breeds, colours, colours of eggs, etc.

I would first check that there are no environmental issues which might have caused the death of your other 2, such as disinfecting as much as you can and perhaps removing the top couple of inches of any soil that they lived on just in case it is contaminated. Obviously you would quarantine any new hens for a period, but also go to a good breeder and get some nice healthy stock.

I am sure you will do what is best for you, but I thought I would just chime in in case you wanted a different (and hopefully more optimistic!) viewpoint. Good luck whatever you decide.

hillfooter · « **Reply #8 on:** September 17, 2010, 02:02 »

Before you introduce your remaining hen i'd want to know a bit more about the illness which afflicted your previous two.

Although you don't know the cause of your other birds' problems it could have been Marek's disease which should not be taken lightly. Marek's disease is a particularly virulent nervous disease which is a nightmare if you get in any flock as it's next to impossible to eradicated without vaccinating your birds and it stays active in the environment for months if not years. I think you need to leave some quarentine time with your remaining bird before you consider moving her or introducing new birds. How old is she and what breed is she and also a little more history on your other birds might help access the risk of exposing her to new birds?

HF

sallylouise · « **Reply #9 on:** September 17, 2010, 13:42 »

Hi
I realise the disease side of things and since I do not know why the other girls died of I am not assuming the other one wont die, I am scrubbing the coop at the weekend and will keep her for a good few weeks before I decide what to do just incase she does have something, thanks for all the advice
:>)

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can one chicken live happily on it's own?

sallylouise

can one chicken live happily on it's own?

bantam novice

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

tesni

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

Kym503

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

Jeanette

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

sallylouise

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

tesni

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

EJCTM

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

hillfooter

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

sallylouise

Re: can one chicken live happily on it's own?

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