I let my 7 wk old BR poults out in the yard for the first time last night. I was a little worried some of the roosters might harass them but it was the other way around! The biggest dominant Tom took out after any rooster that looked at any of them funny. He didn't just charge them them walk away he mercilessly chased them until the poor roosters were shrieking in terror. He ignored the hens.
Mostly they just followed me around while I did chores checking everythign out and sampling everything including my poor cat. One of my hounds came over to check them out and ended up becoming a source of complete fascination for them. He had to keep moving or they'd start taste testing any bit of him they could reach. Any time he stopped they'd all run toward him again and he'd have to take off or risk being nibbled to death.
Real funny was when one of my neighbors came over and the big Tom got real pissy with him. He was doing all kinds of threat displays and dominance toward Josh. He definitely knew Josh was a stranger to the yard and therefore had to be put in his place. When my husband came home later the Tom was totally ok with him even though he hasn't spent much time with them.
It will be intersting to watch how their behavior changes as they get bigger and more used to roamign around.
Mostly they just followed me around while I did chores checking everythign out and sampling everything including my poor cat. One of my hounds came over to check them out and ended up becoming a source of complete fascination for them. He had to keep moving or they'd start taste testing any bit of him they could reach. Any time he stopped they'd all run toward him again and he'd have to take off or risk being nibbled to death.
Real funny was when one of my neighbors came over and the big Tom got real pissy with him. He was doing all kinds of threat displays and dominance toward Josh. He definitely knew Josh was a stranger to the yard and therefore had to be put in his place. When my husband came home later the Tom was totally ok with him even though he hasn't spent much time with them.
It will be intersting to watch how their behavior changes as they get bigger and more used to roamign around.
