Lone Hen, should I get new hens

Aimeee

Hi
We have one lone hen left of about 5 over the last few years. They mostly died of old age, not altogether of course, one by one over the years.
Anyway, funnily enough this last hen left was always the one they used to pick/peck on. Guess she's having the last laugh now!
So can I get more hens or would they kill her?
I know they naturally have a hierarchy and can be nasty to each other so order is established.
The single hen we have seems happy enough, though she is alone and I think they like company.
What should I do, wait for her to kick the bucket or chance it and get a new batch and hope for the best for her. I'd hate if they killed her or something awful!

blond45

awh poor hen, let her be at peace on her own..we used to have hens and i no how they can re-act to each other .what happens if you get more and they could start pecking her ,what would you do with them then?

Aimeee

Hi blond45, yep was thinking the same thing really, I'd hate if we got a new batch only for them to pick on her or worse.
Guess we'll stick with the one until she shuttles off!
Thanks for reply.

aonb

On the other hand, hens are not solitary creatures - they flock, and stick together for safety. How old is she?? If still young, and has years ahead of her (I have a 9 year old hen!) then it would be very sad to be alone! If you got 2 smaller breeds - and young - and introduced them to her gradually over the course of a few days, since she is the resident hen then you might be lucky, and she would be top-hen.

Aimeee

Hi aonb Thanks for reply.
Yes that is what has me thinking maybe we should get a few more? I don't know what's best really. She's come on in leaps and bounds since she's alone, ie no fighting for food has her nice and healthy looking. We did think she didn't have long left before Xmas but she's come alive in the last few weeks, weather not as cold, sunshine etc.
I know they like to be with other hens which is really the only reason I'm thinking of getting more.
We more or less decided a while ago to wait until she was gone, but looking at her today I think she might have a few more years in her.
Maybe some smaller hens is the way to go actually. What breed did you get? She's a Rhode Island red. We also had pure white and pure black hens, breed I don't know, ? White star?. They were very bossy when the Rhode Islands came!

aonb

If shes a Rhode Island Red, maybe get some Rhode Island Hybrids, which can be a little smaller. Or even if you dont want them only for the eggs, you could get some Pekins - very tiny (with very small eggs).

Is your hen in a coop or free ranging? If you do get some young pullets, I would say start with 2, they will be unsure of themselves, and will look to her for pecking order advice (!!!) whereas if you got several, they could start the pecking order wars because they all came together!!

Where are you located? There is a supplier I use that goes to the Marts all over Munster & Leinster - he supplies lovely little hybrids (Rhode Islands) - and they in my experience have all been very friendly and docile. The other option would be to rescue some battery hens which come from the batteries into rescues on a regular basis... Another option would be to see if anyone you know who keeps hens have a hen who is finished laying that they would give you. If you are anywhere near Naas you can have my 9 year old

Aimeee

Thanks so much for all that info aonb. Would happily take your 9yr old only I'm miles from Naas. Two would suit nicely or even three. She's in a "free ranging" area at the moment, ie loads of space, goes into her shed at night, but have loads of farmland to roam in. They were just fenced in from coming down to the house due to hubby's love for the garden, (I quite liked them around the place though the poo everywhere was bad, esp when I came home from school run and they'd all be waiting at the front door for us!). I loved and hated them at the same time.
Anyway I digress, I'll pm you for that info on the supplier, Munster would probably suit me.
I've always wondered about resuced battery hens, are they strong enough to weather real life, I always think they must be weak but if they go to rescues first then they must be ready?
Where would I get info on rescue centres?

I think the pullets maybe the way to go, I'd like her to keep her space now and not have to back to the bottom again (or worse!).

aonb

Yea, hen-poo is the biggest disadvantage to hens!

If she is free range then she will be better off in so far that she can get away from them til the dust settles. I would suggest that you keep the new arrivals contained for up to a week - in the shed if necessary, and let her out to free range. Then let them join her outside.

Battery Hens look awful when they are freed, but they soon feather up and can lead happy healthy lives with lots of egg production. If there was a battery rescue scheduled soon - you could see one advertised here - then that might be an option for her.

I will PM you the Cork chap who supplies those nice little hybrids - you could give him a call and see if he does your area/local mart. Check locally too though to see if there are any suppliers or breeders of hens - there is IRISHFOWL.COM and IRISH-POULTRY.COM

Aimeee

Brilliant aonb thanks so much for all that information.
Hopefully all will go well. Fingers crossed.

Ever2010

We had two and lost one - we got two point of lays for the one left - and she was top hen! They are sociable creatures - so she loved it. Lost all three to a fox about two months ago I really miss them about the place!

Aimeee

Hi Ever2010, sorry to hear you lost all three. Luckily no fox issues here yet! I've tempted faith by saying that!
Glad to hear your one hen became the top one with the newbies.
It's only at night I think she might be lonely, she seems happy enough daytime wandering and doing henstuff!

fathead82

If you got two or three pullets, your 5 year old hen should come out top of the pecking order, from what I can see with my hens, the older the hen, the higher up she is in the pecking order.
I got 4 ex battery hens before Christmas, they were terrible looking when I got them first but are normal looking hens now & are all laying. If you want I will PM you the name of the rescue I got them from, I think they still have some left.

Ever2010

Aimeee wrote: »

Hi Ever2010, sorry to hear you lost all three. Luckily no fox issues here yet! I've tempted faith by saying that!
Glad to hear your one hen became the top one with the newbies.
It's only at night I think she might be lonely, she seems happy enough daytime wandering and doing henstuff!

Yeah nature sucks sometimes! It was during the really cold snap - we still have the ducks and will look to get another few hens this Summer.