hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?

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daisy1990

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We have three hens which came together and were we thought docile until we inherited a fourth hen( as her partner had died)  Our hens wont let her near their food so we have given her separate food and water and she spends all day on top of the rabbit hutch out of the others way.  We kept her in her own coop for a week so the hens could see her but not get at her.  We now let her out with them during the day.  So far they have pecked her repeatedly but not drawn blood.  I need them to sleep together as our four new chicks are now outside and in our second coop.  We followed advice to wait until then hens were asleep and then lift her into the coop, but as soon as we did the most aggressive hen woke up created an almighty fuss and pecked her until the poor thing struggled out of my arms and fled.  Any advice on what we should do?  I hate the idea of her being trapped inside with the others pecking her and her not being able to get away from them- but is this the best thing to do in the long run?

3 dogs, 8 chickens, 4 rabbits 2 guinea pigs, 10 quail, 2 fish and a demanding daughter who has gone to uni and left me with 29 animals to care for!!=)

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themagicaltoad1

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2011, 22:44 »
I've not really had any experience in this area but did read that it's never a good idea to introduce just one new hen to an established flock. Can you get another newby so at least it evens the odds a bit? and if it's one hen in particular that's doing most of the bullying, separate the bully from the others for a while. Keep some purple spray handy in case they draw blood.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2011, 22:46 by themagicaltoad1 »

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Squiggly

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2011, 08:38 »
themagicaltoad has given all the advice I was going to so Ill just add a good luck from me message  :) and try not to worry too much

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Gemjt

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2011, 09:02 »
I read something about a spray you can use on all the hens (new and existing) which will help them all to smell the same. I also read somewhere that you can separate the main hen and the others may become more friendly with the new hen- so help to make bonds and then bring the main hen back in..... There is lots of stuff on this forum about introducing hens and bullying.
Karl, Lewis, Jensen & Guy.... all Girl chickens named after t'husbands hero's (and one of mine)....... Rossi and Murdoch....all Girl cats - again, named after t'husbands hero's!  the things you  have to agree to when you want new pets!

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Pertelotte

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2011, 15:24 »
When I introduced my new girls I squirted them all with an anti-fly spray I'd made up myself. It has no nasty chemicals in and smells lovely. It's supposed to discourage flies which s always useful where chickens poop. It smells nice on people too.

The theory is if they all smell the same they're much more likely to integrate.

Recipe as follows:

20ml glycerine; add 10 drops each of citronella and lavender essential oils; shake and top up with 80 ml water. Rainwater best, but tap perfectly acceptable. It's from the Handmade Soap Book by Melinda Cross.

Hope this is useful to you.

P x

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Beakybird

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2011, 15:53 »
When one of my hens had been attacked by the others I was wary of her being kept away from the others whilst recovering and then being made an outcast.

I made a seperate run for her right next to the other hens, so they could always see her. I fed them either side of the plastic fencing. I made a small partitioned area in the coop, just enough for her to sleep in (made from a small wooden frame and chicken wire). I attached this to the inside of the coop using cable ties through screw in eyes (which where screwed into the inside of the coop). 

At night time she went into a box in her run so that, when I went down to lock them up in the evening, I simply picked her up and popped her into her 'safe house' in the coop.

Doing this meant she was never split up from the flock, either in the day or during the night.

Good luck. They can be such a worry, can't they? xx
« Last Edit: April 17, 2011, 21:02 by Beakybird »

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Lindeggs

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2011, 23:54 »
Daisy, how many perches do you have inside the coop and at what height? 

My six pullets have lived together all their lives and I don't have any bullying issues, but I know they have very particular perching protocols that I really don't understand.  They all sleep together on the higher of the two perches in their coop, and they always perch in colour-sorted pairs.

The other night they all went to bed, but when I came to close the coop door I startled one and she fell off the perch!  It was quite dark and I thought she would have trouble jumping up again so I thought I would do her a favour and pop her back up on the perch.

Well what chaos I created by doing that!  :ohmy:  The others pecked at her and squawked and made a real fuss.   She jumped off the high perch onto the floor, then jumped back onto the low perch, then after lots of chit-chat and chicken negotiation, jumped onto the high perch and nobody fussed.

I don't know how you added your new girl to the coop, but if possible I would suggest putting her on the coop floor or on a lower perch.  She might have to sleep there for a few nights before the others let her up on their perch, but at least they have control over the process which should reduce stress.

Good luck to you and your new girl!

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Mulberry1990

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2011, 13:06 »
We have two perches in the coop, but only one of the original girls perch's, another sleeps in the nesting box and another sleeps on the floor. We've been putting her in the coop about an hour after putting the others to bed and they don't bother with her at all, but if we attempt to put her in at the same time they go in it's mayhem!
4 Dogs: Stanley, Oscar, Borris and Scraps, 8 chickens: Prada, Mulberry, Alessi, Apple, Dior, Bobbi, Eve and Fendi, 2 Guinea Pigs: Rupert and Milo, 3 Rabbits: Louis, Daisy and Charlie 2 Fish: Sandy and Pebbles, 6 Quail

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Casey76

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2011, 14:22 »
Hi Daisy,

Unfortunately this is just typical pecking order fighting, and you may just have to grit your teeth and let them get on with it.

Have some purple spray at the ready in case blood is drawn, and put three or four small feeders and waterers around, so that she has access to food and water :)

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cejx

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2011, 15:26 »
I get a new hen on friday - as a result of her 2 friends meeting their match with Mr Fox. I shall let you know how things go, as my hens are quite a handful anyway.
**ginger•henna•margo•matilda•hattie••5 ex-bats & betty the rescued bluebelle**

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jesschocolate28

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2011, 21:59 »
Just to let you know, this was a problem with my chickens, after introducing a new one into the flock, it was getting pecked to bits! but after about a week of us protecting it, and isolating the bulling chicken for about 5mins each time we caught it pecking, it wore off, and eventually completely stopped :)
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there?   I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt."   Minnie&Bonnie<3

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Mulberry1990

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2011, 12:56 »
They're improving, we've now discovered they can all go to bed at the same time if we put the new one in the egg box next to the our broody chicken but with her head facing away from the other chicken, and shut the lid instantly so that they can't see who we've put in there!
Still not ideal, but better than having to creep down in the middle of the night and sneak her in!! They're all fine during the day they just stay away from each other really, but they've gone from standing on different sides of the field to standing about 3ft away from each other, so it's slow improvements!!!

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daisy1990

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Re: hens wont let our new girl in the coop- what can we do?
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2011, 20:35 »
In case you haven't gathered Mulberry is my daughter (home from university so helping with the girls thank goodness!) Thanks all of you for your helpful suggestions.  All three of our girls try and peck the new hen whenever she goes near.  She submits by lying down and they jump on her back, pin her down and peck furiously at her head.  It looks alarming but they haven't drawn blood so may look worse than it is.  She looks so sad and has taken to jumping on top of the rabbit hutch and staying there all day (so we have put food and water up there with her)  It is heartening to hear that others have had similar problems and they have resolved.  I do hope so as we have the four new chicks to introduce soon!!



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