Keep Her In the Coop and Run Until She Homes to It
A Leghorn chicken needs to stay in her new coop and attached run for the first several days, because chickens return at dusk to the place they have slept, not the place you wish they would. Set the coop up before she arrives with a dry perch at a comfortable height, a nest box with clean straw, feed in a fixed hanger, and water she can reach without stretching. Leghorns are light, athletic birds that fly better than most hens, so check the run has a covered top and no gaps at the corners. Place her inside the coop in the morning, let her walk out into the run in her own time, and shut her in again before dark.
Meet the Flock Through Wire, Then on Neutral Ground
A Leghorn should see resident hens through wire before she shares ground with them. Keep her run alongside the flock's area for several days so everyone can posture, call, and settle the obvious arguments without contact; chickens establish rank quickly, and a single new hen introduced cold can be chased off feed and water by the whole group. When mixing day comes, do it in the largest space available with extra feed and water stations scattered widely, and add her at dusk if possible, when birds are thinking about roosting rather than fighting. A few days of parallel living makes that evening far quieter.
Feed a Working Layer, Not a Pet on Treats
Leghorns are among the most productive laying breeds, so a settling hen needs her layer feed available all day from day one. Keep the feeder in one place so she learns it, provide a separate dish of crushed shell for calcium she can take as needed, and go easy on scattered treats while she is still finding her feet in the pecking order. A nervous newcomer often eats at the edges, so check the feeder level morning and evening to confirm feed is actually disappearing. Fresh water matters just as much; a hen that stops drinking stops laying, and a drinker fouled beyond use is a common first-week oversight.
Check Her After Dark, Not by Chasing at Noon
Check a new Leghorn after dark, when she is settled on the perch and can be lifted calmly with minimal stress. Torchlight and quiet hands let you feel her breastbone for condition, look under the tail feathers for lice or mites, and check her legs for raised, crusty scales. Leghorns are flighty by temperament, and one midday chase around the run teaches her that people mean panic, undoing a week of calm feeding routines. Keep the night check brief, return her to the same spot on the perch, and repeat weekly until handling her feels ordinary to you both.
Track Her Laying and Watch for Quiet-Hen Signs
A settling Leghorn may pause laying for some days after a move, then resume once the coop feels like home. Note her eggs, her appetite, and whether she forages actively with a bright, upright stance, since this breed is normally busy from dawn to dusk. Call a veterinarian with poultry experience if she stands fluffed and still, stops eating, breathes with an open beak at rest, or passes abnormal droppings for more than a day or two. Hens hide illness well, and a bird that has stopped pretending to be fine is usually genuinely unwell and worth prompt attention.
One Evening Routine, Followed by Everyone
By the end of the second week a Leghorn that roosts in the coop unprompted, eats at the main feeder, and holds her own in the flock has settled, and she can range wider ground if you free-range. Her routine then depends on whoever does the evening round following the same count-in, feed check, and door routine. Writing down which coop she sleeps in, where she lays, and how her settling checks went keeps those details from living in one person's memory. KinsLe Family Sharing holds this hen's profile for the whole household, so her care stays steady even when chores rotate.