BDutch's bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 🪺 🪺 and #6

[BDutch]

I posted this first on ‘Topic of the week’ about bullying. But I feel it belongs here too.

“About how I got a bully toward chicks, after she (Janice) was being bullied and traumatised herself. She’s not a bully for other hens.

I never bought chicks but had broodies hatching and caring. The bullying started twice with chicks /young pullets after the broody/broodies stopped caring.

First time this happened in 2019 when I had a broody with 2 cockerels and one pullet. I had 2 separate ads on our craigslist (marketplace) for the two cockerels. I cant keep roosters, but one could stay until next spring when he starts to rise and shine (crow) too early in the morning. The cockerels must have been 12 - 14 weeks old when a men came with his two sons and asked if they could have them both. And I stupidly said yes.
The 3 chicks had nicely integrated until the cockerels had gone. But the one pullet had a bad time after they had gone. She (Janice) was bullied at roosting time and wasn’t allowed to roost with the flock. It was not one agressor but a few who did this. Janice turned into a scared and flighty hen, and preferred to roost apart from the rest of the flock for several years. Over a year ago she finally roosted with the flock.

Last year Janice and another hen got broody and I gave them both hatchery in two nest-boxes aside from each other. The eggs were marked so I could take away the extra eggs. A third broody joined. And the did very well, too well. 9 out of 11 eggs hatched and turned into 4 young cockerels and 5 pullets.
After the chicks were weaned they were no longer welcome in the coop to roost. Janice was the one of the nastiest hen if it came to bullying in the evening. The youngsters had a branche in the run where they slept. I naively thought the hens saw them as a invasion because they outnumbered my hens. And this was the reason the got expelled from the roosts in the coop.

I had ads on Marketplace for some time, but so-far people where only interested in pullets and I only wanted to sell one if they took a cockerel for free too.
Finally someone bought most of them. Was happy with the cockerels and took two more as he really wanted to help me out. I had two pullets left. But they still were not allowed inside to roost. I had learned from the situation with Janice that its not helping to put the young pullets in between the other hens during the night. So I made a small coop for them in the run. Less safe but a nice solution it seemed. After a few weeks my eldest hen started to join the two pullets. And during the day she hang out with them once in a while too. But then, one white pullet disappeared. And I was glad the other pullet had the company of my eldest hen. After a week, Janice joined them and then bullied the pullet at roosting time. She was not allowed to roost in the small coop in the run too and started to roost on a branch in the second run alone (without cover). I had put her in the coop with the other 4 hens after dark and was thinking how to resolve this new problem, when she disappeared too.

Finally, I think I made a mistake to give away all cockerels at this young age. They probably would gave protected the pullets against the nasty behaviour of the adult hens. And having this one hen that is traumatised at a young ages is not a nice hen in the flock. I shouldn’t have let her being a broody. The was too protective and aggressive towards me when she had chicks. The 2 pullets I kept learned from her to be frightened for me.

Next year I want to buy some hatchery eggs and I try to figure out whats the best strategy to follow. I see two options:

1. Letting one of my friendly hens sit. My sweet oldest hen Ini mini, or Kraai or Black who are friendly to me too.
2. Or buy a small incubator and raise the chicks myself so they can grow up in thrust if a human and keep them separated until they are old enough in the second run.

I’d like to hear you opinions.

 

[BDutch]

I was home early because of an appointment with someone who can take down two trees (halfway).
Thought I could let the chickens free range. Later I was inside the house with the terrace door open. ….

Panic. The awful cat came by again, chasing my chickens. I’m glad the chickens are panicking now. But one chicken was missing. .

An hour later I heard her calling from far far away and tried to go to were the sound came from.

In the meanwhile, my neighbour send me this picture of her parking, the street and Kraai, who obviously didn’t know how to get home. She was happy to see me . Picked her up and brought her back home to roost.

 

[fluffycrow]

I posted this first on ‘Topic of the week’ about bullying. But I feel it belongs here too.

“About how I got a bully toward chicks, after she (Janice) was being bullied and traumatised herself. She’s not a bully for other hens.

I never bought chicks but had broodies hatching and caring. The bullying started twice with chicks /young pullets after the broody/broodies stopped caring.

First time this happened in 2019 when I had a broody with 2 cockerels and one pullet. I had 2 separate ads on our craigslist (marketplace) for the two cockerels. I cant keep roosters, but one could stay until next spring when he starts to rise and shine (crow) too early in the morning. The cockerels must have been 12 - 14 weeks old when a men came with his two sons and asked if they could have them both. And I stupidly said yes.
The 3 chicks had nicely integrated until the cockerels had gone. But the one pullet had a bad time after they had gone. She (Janice) was bullied at roosting time and wasn’t allowed to roost with the flock. It was not one agressor but a few who did this. Janice turned into a scared and flighty hen, and preferred to roost apart from the rest of the flock for several years. Over a year ago she finally roosted with the flock.

Last year Janice and another hen got broody and I gave them both hatchery in two nest-boxes aside from each other. The eggs were marked so I could take away the extra eggs. A third broody joined. And the did very well, too well. 9 out of 11 eggs hatched and turned into 4 young cockerels and 5 pullets.
After the chicks were weaned they were no longer welcome in the coop to roost. Janice was the one of the nastiest hen if it came to bullying in the evening. The youngsters had a branche in the run where they slept. I naively thought the hens saw them as a invasion because they outnumbered my hens. And this was the reason the got expelled from the roosts in the coop.

I had ads on Marketplace for some time, but so-far people where only interested in pullets and I only wanted to sell one if they took a cockerel for free too.
Finally someone bought most of them. Was happy with the cockerels and took two more as he really wanted to help me out. I had two pullets left. But they still were not allowed inside to roost. I had learned from the situation with Janice that its not helping to put the young pullets in between the other hens during the night. So I made a small coop for them in the run. Less safe but a nice solution it seemed. After a few weeks my eldest hen started to join the two pullets. And during the day she hang out with them once in a while too. But then, one white pullet disappeared. And I was glad the other pullet had the company of my eldest hen. After a week, Janice joined them and then bullied the pullet at roosting time. She was not allowed to roost in the small coop in the run too and started to roost on a branch in the second run alone (without cover). I had put her in the coop with the other 4 hens after dark and was thinking how to resolve this new problem, when she disappeared too.

Finally, I think I made a mistake to give away all cockerels at this young age. They probably would gave protected the pullets against the nasty behaviour of the adult hens. And having this one hen that is traumatised at a young ages is not a nice hen in the flock. I shouldn’t have let her being a broody. The was too protective and aggressive towards me when she had chicks. The 2 pullets I kept learned from her to be frightened for me.

Next year I want to buy some hatchery eggs and I try to figure out whats the best strategy to follow. I see two options:

1. Letting one of my friendly hens sit. My sweet oldest hen Ini mini, or Kraai or Black who are friendly to me too.
2. Or buy a small incubator and raise the chicks myself so they can grow up in thrust if a human and keep them separated until they are old enough in the second run.

I’d like to hear you opinions.

I'd always vote in favor of a mom sitting

 

[fluffycrow]

I was home early because of an appointment with someone who can take down two trees (halfway).
Thought I could let the chickens free range. Later I was inside the house with the terrace door open. ….

Panic. The awful cat came by again, chasing my chickens. I’m glad the chickens are panicking now. But one chicken was missing. .

An hour later I heard her calling from far far away and tried to go to were the sound came from.

View attachment 3655556

In the meanwhile, my neighbour send me this picture of her parking, the street and Kraai, who obviously didn’t know how to get home. She was happy to see me . Picked her up and brought her back home to roost.

That cat needs to leave

 

[BDutch]

I'd always vote in favor of a mom sitting

Sure, So convenient to hatch with broodies and to let them give the chicks a descent schooling. But if broodies don’t tolerate me, and even attack me there is something going the wrong way. My first batch were incubator chicks, friendly towards me and more easy going.
I learned my lesson. Katrientje, Pearl and Janice are not friendly and therefore I wont let them hatch any chicks.

That cat needs to leave

How? He looks cared after.
He is probably chipped So the rescue center is hardly an option even when I would succeed to trap him.

My neighbour confirmed he is male, he peed in her house once.

Other options fit to fail;

• Ride circles with my car and speed up if I see him .
• Throw stones or buckets with water.
• Buy an illegal gun () or search my sons water pistol in the bicycle shed and shoot him.

 

[fluffycrow]

Sure, So convenient to hatch with broodies and to let them give the chicks a descent schooling. But if broodies don’t tolerate me, and even attack me there is something going the wrong way. My first batch were incubator chicks, friendly towards me and more easy going.
I learned my lesson. Katrientje, Pearl and Janice are not friendly and therefore I wont let them hatch any chicks.


How? He looks cared after.
He is probably chipped So the rescue center is hardly an option even when I would succeed to trap him.

My neighbour confirmed he is male, he peed in her house once.

Other options fit to fail;

• Ride circles with my car and speed up if I see him .
• Throw stones or buckets with water.
• Buy an illegal gun () or search my sons water pistol in the bicycle shed and shoot him.

Honestly, I don't know. I've only had one broody. Cruella is SUPER scared of me. Like she doesn't like me at all. While she was broody however, she would even let me hand feed her and her chicks. She'd peck me from time to time, but that's just her being a good mother. Her chicks turned out just as friendly as the brooder chicks. As for the cat, I vote water gun or you running out, acting all big and scary, and making him run away

 

[RoyalChick]

Sure, So convenient to hatch with broodies and to let them give the chicks a descent schooling. But if broodies don’t tolerate me, and even attack me there is something going the wrong way. My first batch were incubator chicks, friendly towards me and more easy going.
I learned my lesson. Katrientje, Pearl and Janice are not friendly and therefore I wont let them hatch any chicks.


How? He looks cared after.
He is probably chipped So the rescue center is hardly an option even when I would succeed to trap him.

My neighbour confirmed he is male, he peed in her house once.

Other options fit to fail;

• Ride circles with my car and speed up if I see him .
• Throw stones or buckets with water.
• Buy an illegal gun () or search my sons water pistol in the bicycle shed and shoot him.

You can get motion activated compressed air canisters that are quite effective at deterring cats.
You would need to look with a camera or something to figure where exactly he comes from so you put them in the correct spot.

 

[MaryJanet]

I posted this first on ‘Topic of the week’ about bullying. But I feel it belongs here too.

“About how I got a bully toward chicks, after she (Janice) was being bullied and traumatised herself. She’s not a bully for other hens.

I never bought chicks but had broodies hatching and caring. The bullying started twice with chicks /young pullets after the broody/broodies stopped caring.

First time this happened in 2019 when I had a broody with 2 cockerels and one pullet. I had 2 separate ads on our craigslist (marketplace) for the two cockerels. I cant keep roosters, but one could stay until next spring when he starts to rise and shine (crow) too early in the morning. The cockerels must have been 12 - 14 weeks old when a men came with his two sons and asked if they could have them both. And I stupidly said yes.
The 3 chicks had nicely integrated until the cockerels had gone. But the one pullet had a bad time after they had gone. She (Janice) was bullied at roosting time and wasn’t allowed to roost with the flock. It was not one agressor but a few who did this. Janice turned into a scared and flighty hen, and preferred to roost apart from the rest of the flock for several years. Over a year ago she finally roosted with the flock.

Last year Janice and another hen got broody and I gave them both hatchery in two nest-boxes aside from each other. The eggs were marked so I could take away the extra eggs. A third broody joined. And the did very well, too well. 9 out of 11 eggs hatched and turned into 4 young cockerels and 5 pullets.
After the chicks were weaned they were no longer welcome in the coop to roost. Janice was the one of the nastiest hen if it came to bullying in the evening. The youngsters had a branche in the run where they slept. I naively thought the hens saw them as a invasion because they outnumbered my hens. And this was the reason the got expelled from the roosts in the coop.

I had ads on Marketplace for some time, but so-far people where only interested in pullets and I only wanted to sell one if they took a cockerel for free too.
Finally someone bought most of them. Was happy with the cockerels and took two more as he really wanted to help me out. I had two pullets left. But they still were not allowed inside to roost. I had learned from the situation with Janice that its not helping to put the young pullets in between the other hens during the night. So I made a small coop for them in the run. Less safe but a nice solution it seemed. After a few weeks my eldest hen started to join the two pullets. And during the day she hang out with them once in a while too. But then, one white pullet disappeared. And I was glad the other pullet had the company of my eldest hen. After a week, Janice joined them and then bullied the pullet at roosting time. She was not allowed to roost in the small coop in the run too and started to roost on a branch in the second run alone (without cover). I had put her in the coop with the other 4 hens after dark and was thinking how to resolve this new problem, when she disappeared too.

Finally, I think I made a mistake to give away all cockerels at this young age. They probably would gave protected the pullets against the nasty behaviour of the adult hens. And having this one hen that is traumatised at a young ages is not a nice hen in the flock. I shouldn’t have let her being a broody. The was too protective and aggressive towards me when she had chicks. The 2 pullets I kept learned from her to be frightened for me.

Next year I want to buy some hatchery eggs and I try to figure out whats the best strategy to follow. I see two options:

1. Letting one of my friendly hens sit. My sweet oldest hen Ini mini, or Kraai or Black who are friendly to me too.
2. Or buy a small incubator and raise the chicks myself so they can grow up in thrust if a human and keep them separated until they are old enough in the second run.

I’d like to hear you opinions.

I would try with Ini mini, Kraai or Black first. See what happens. If that's another disaster, try incubating the year after.

 

[BDutch]

Honestly, I don't know. I've only had one broody. Cruella is SUPER scared of me. Like she doesn't like me at all. While she was broody however, she would even let me hand feed her and her chicks. She'd peck me from time to time, but that's just her being a good mother. Her chicks turned out just as friendly as the brooder chicks.

Good to know, thanks.

As for the cat, I vote water gun or you running out, acting all big and scary, and making him run away

I tried big and scary today. Run after him trespassing the neighbours garden up to the ditch were I lost him.

You can get motion activated compressed air canisters that are quite effective at deterring cats.
You would need to look with a camera or something to figure where exactly he comes from so you put them in the correct spot.

Thanks for the idea but I don’t think I like to scare the nice neighbour cats that way.

I would try with Ini mini, Kraai or Black first. See what happens. If that's another disaster, try incubating the year after.

Yes, lets see what opportunities upcoming spring will bring us.

 

[BDutch]

It seems to work to let the chickens free range an hour around lunchtime if I work at home during the week. The strange cat wasn’t around at that time and I suspect the owner(s) keep him inside when they go to work.

Saturday we let them free range and watched a bit for over an hour. Suddenly the chickens came to the coop. As if the had seen something. I locked them up for the rest of the day.

The chickens seem to know thats its not very safe to free range. If they are free ranging they act more cautious.
Today it they returned to the coop and run again by themself, after an hour or so, to rest. I closed the main doors and had no intentions to escape through the side door for cleaning, when I made some winter preparations.

I closed the summer ventilation opening today in the coop and reinstalled the poop board. I got it out because of the mites, but they really stayed away and I don’t expect them to come back with these temps. The poop board blocks a strong air flow under the roosts and makes it easier to clean. The chickens have a little extra indoor space under the poop board now, nice in rainy and stormy weather .

The snails finally disappeared because its too cold now, but Janice thinks it’s a nice time to become a broody.

The chickens loose a few feathers but none of them has a heavy molt.