AND 10 HENS. Last spring we decided to get some chickens for the first time in our lives. We're retired and in live in the North Carolina Piedmont. After researching we chose to buy Red Stars from Ideal Hatchery and the Defender coop and run from Tractor Supply. At first we wanted to have 8 layers and were undecided about roosters. But after reading accounts about some of the chicks dying in transit, we ordered 10 hens and 2 roosters which arrived on May 10. The fact that Ideal offered free shipping if we ordered 12 birds factored into our decision and gave us the option of hatching our own chicks.
As fate would have it, all of the chicks lived. The Defender run gave the birds 10 square feet apiece which was recommended and the coop accommodates all the birds. We spent a lot of time with the them, especially in the first few days so they would recognize our faces. Consequently, most of the birds are very friendly, especially the hens and we can pick them all up if necessary. The hens are brown and the roosters are white. The hens all look pretty much alike alike, except for on smaller hen that we call Chicken Little. We named the 2 roosters Amos and Andy.
Amos was the alpha bird from the get go and all the birds followed his leading. Andy was smaller and had some brown feathers on his wings so telling them apart was never a problem. In time Amos began to pick on Andy and chased him around the run, often pinning him down. When Amos was ready to breed he practiced on Andy before deciding he preferred the hens. (We recalled the joke about the farmer and the gay rooster as we watched them in action). After practicing on Andy, Amos has no problem nailing any of the hens at will.
So Amos was clearly the dominant bird. That is until one day we forgot to latch one of the coop side doors and both roosters escaped. We were able to catch Andy and put him in the run, but try as we might, we couldn't corral Amos. We watched him for awhile and realized that he was going to hang around the outside of the chain link run to free range. We had to be gone for several hours that day and returned after dark.
We found Amos roosting on a sheet of plywood that leaned against a tree about 5 feet from the coop. Since it was dark, we had no problem picking him up and putting him back in the coop. But everyday since then, we've noticed something strange. Even though Amos was separated from the rest of the birds by only a chain link fence where he be seen by all of the other birds, he suddenly was treated like an outsider.
Several of the hens would peck at him and Andy, who was previously "the wuss", suddenly became top bird. It's been a couple of weeks but everyday Amos cowers in the coop, usually hiding in one our 4 layer boxes while Andy now rules the roost. Every so often Andy will go into the coop and peck and chase Amos all around the coop and refusing to let him eat from outside run feeder or drink water. We laugh at them all the time, but now it stopped being a laughing matter since we have to shut the coop up and feed and water Amos by hand while he's cowering in the coop.
We surmise that pecking order was changed by Amos being separated by only chain link fencing on his jail breakout day. But the problem has to be solved. How do integrate Amos back into the flock? Or is that not possible?. We can't keep feeding and watering him by hand. Before he had his jail break, he clearly was the dominate bird with all the birds getting along fine with Amos and charge. But not the order is reversed and we're scratching our heads about what to do.
Do we need to eliminate one of the roosters? If so which one? In the beginning we got 2 roosters, thinking that one might die in transit. Now we have 12 healthy birds. We've been feeding them Purina Organic Layer Feed. The hens are producing big brown eggs virtually everyday even on the coldest winter days, although their production is about half of what it was in November when it was still warm.
As fate would have it, all of the chicks lived. The Defender run gave the birds 10 square feet apiece which was recommended and the coop accommodates all the birds. We spent a lot of time with the them, especially in the first few days so they would recognize our faces. Consequently, most of the birds are very friendly, especially the hens and we can pick them all up if necessary. The hens are brown and the roosters are white. The hens all look pretty much alike alike, except for on smaller hen that we call Chicken Little. We named the 2 roosters Amos and Andy.
Amos was the alpha bird from the get go and all the birds followed his leading. Andy was smaller and had some brown feathers on his wings so telling them apart was never a problem. In time Amos began to pick on Andy and chased him around the run, often pinning him down. When Amos was ready to breed he practiced on Andy before deciding he preferred the hens. (We recalled the joke about the farmer and the gay rooster as we watched them in action). After practicing on Andy, Amos has no problem nailing any of the hens at will.
So Amos was clearly the dominant bird. That is until one day we forgot to latch one of the coop side doors and both roosters escaped. We were able to catch Andy and put him in the run, but try as we might, we couldn't corral Amos. We watched him for awhile and realized that he was going to hang around the outside of the chain link run to free range. We had to be gone for several hours that day and returned after dark.
We found Amos roosting on a sheet of plywood that leaned against a tree about 5 feet from the coop. Since it was dark, we had no problem picking him up and putting him back in the coop. But everyday since then, we've noticed something strange. Even though Amos was separated from the rest of the birds by only a chain link fence where he be seen by all of the other birds, he suddenly was treated like an outsider.
Several of the hens would peck at him and Andy, who was previously "the wuss", suddenly became top bird. It's been a couple of weeks but everyday Amos cowers in the coop, usually hiding in one our 4 layer boxes while Andy now rules the roost. Every so often Andy will go into the coop and peck and chase Amos all around the coop and refusing to let him eat from outside run feeder or drink water. We laugh at them all the time, but now it stopped being a laughing matter since we have to shut the coop up and feed and water Amos by hand while he's cowering in the coop.
We surmise that pecking order was changed by Amos being separated by only chain link fencing on his jail breakout day. But the problem has to be solved. How do integrate Amos back into the flock? Or is that not possible?. We can't keep feeding and watering him by hand. Before he had his jail break, he clearly was the dominate bird with all the birds getting along fine with Amos and charge. But not the order is reversed and we're scratching our heads about what to do.
Do we need to eliminate one of the roosters? If so which one? In the beginning we got 2 roosters, thinking that one might die in transit. Now we have 12 healthy birds. We've been feeding them Purina Organic Layer Feed. The hens are producing big brown eggs virtually everyday even on the coldest winter days, although their production is about half of what it was in November when it was still warm.
