Meet Eliza, the newest member of my flock and a beauty for sure. She's been well cared for and loved but has seen her flock diminish until she was the only hen remaining. Chickens need to be in a flock, they are social birds and don't fare well alone so her owner was thoughtful enough to call me and see if I'd bring her into my fold. My coop has a smaller coop inside for occasions when isolating a bird is needed so I was ready for her and eager to see how everyone responded. Integrating a new bird can take hours, days or weeks depending on the aggressiveness of the flock. Thankfully, Eliza is safe from being pecked as each hen took turns sizing her up through the screen. Some hens aggressively trying to get at her to peck her, others just scoping her out. I watched the interactions all day as each encounter presented a new and interesting reaction, Eliza holding her own each time. I don't think she'll ever be at the bottom of the pecking order, but fighting for the top spot might not be a great idea either, time will tell. If I were to guess I'd say she'll need to be isolated until next weekend, hopefully by then everyones curiosities will have settled down. Introducing a bird takes patience and proper timing. It's best to let them into the flock at dusk when they're all going to roost, they wake up in the morning and it's as if she's always been with them....hopefully. Watching the new girl yesterday I couldn't help but think how similar it is to human behavior. The new girl comes in, each girl sizes her up, initially feeling threatened by her, eager to hold on to whatever social ground they feel they've gained. No one likes the new girl, but over time and with days or weeks of initial bullying, she finds her place, becoming part of the flock. I'm eager to see sweet Eliza make friends, hopefully my girls will make room for her at the lunch table soon. Who knows, they may like her after all and enjoy having another warm feathered friend to roost with on cold nights.
🥰❤️😘
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