Recent content by SoCalClucker

  1. SoCalClucker

    Sweet Buff Orpington becomes a mama... now she's a bully!

    Were you able to do anything to address the situation, or did the broody treat her new subordinates with more kindness than mine is?
  2. SoCalClucker

    Sweet Buff Orpington becomes a mama... now she's a bully!

    I don't know exactly, as it was all built in place and designed to maximize the space we had... if I had to guess, I'd say it was probably a 150-200 sq ft run, with 1/2 being sand and 1/2 being a "playbox" filled with alfalfa hay and occasional kitchen scraps. Rather than a traditional enclosed...
  3. SoCalClucker

    Sweet Buff Orpington becomes a mama... now she's a bully!

    Oh I forgot to mention, when she first hatched her chick/adopted the day-olds, they were in their own run inside the main run. They were locked in there for just 3 or 4 days, and then we re-integrated them, and everything went fine. When they started roosting with the other hens and not sleeping...
  4. SoCalClucker

    exchequer leghorn thread

    Hi all, I just have one Exchequeuer chick bought as part of a group of day-olds from MyPetChicken, and readily adopted by a broody Buff Orpington sitting on a clutch of eggs. She is absolutely gorgeous at the age of 8 weeks, even though the "checkering" is still a bit uneven as she develops. She...
  5. SoCalClucker

    Sweet Buff Orpington becomes a mama... now she's a bully!

    Our BO was a sweet, mellow, calm hen, probably bottom of the pecking order but our flock was calm and settled so you wouldn't really know it. Those days are gone... now that she's had babies (hatched one chick and adopted 4 one-day-olds), she's a different hen altogether. When the chicks were...
  6. SoCalClucker

    How to get chicks into coop at night?

    Hmm, kids who don't want to go to bed... Can't be uncommon, right? ;-) In seriousness, how late are you waiting before herding them up? Mine seem to have a switch right around dusk, when the air gets a chill in it, they can't get into their "bed" fast enough. Also, is Mama Hen helping at all...
  7. SoCalClucker

    Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer

    We started running a fan now that summer is definitely here (90s almost everyday) and the chickens are now trained to sit right in front of it even when it hasn't been turned on yet! Quite a sight, 7 big girls and 5 chicks all scattered on the sand right in front of where the fan is blowing...
  8. SoCalClucker

    Reign of Terror

    Today as Intervention Day 1. The Mean Hen :rolleyes: was allowed to eat, drink, investigate the new nest boxes with the flock this morning, but then was promptly kicked out. Unfortunately keeping her confined in a small area and letting the rest of the girls explore a larger area wasn't possible...
  9. SoCalClucker

    A tree in the run?

    OMG!!! :lau
  10. SoCalClucker

    A tree in the run?

    I love Japanese maples, what gorgeous trees! So glad you were able to save it in time. :-)
  11. SoCalClucker

    A tree in the run?

    Hmm. Doesn't rosemary supposedly have some bug repellent properties? I wonder if a big bush of rosemary in a pot would add some good ambience to the run... o_O Would they eat it, I wonder?
  12. SoCalClucker

    A tree in the run?

    We just did a bit of a change-up in our run. It's about 25 ft. x 10 ft., roughly rectangular, fully enclosed with 1/4" hardware mesh along all walls, the ceiling (which is 10 feet tall), and underneath the sand floor. About 1/3 floor area of it has been made into a "sandbox" of alfalfa hay for...
  13. SoCalClucker

    Reign of Terror

    Soup? :eek:
  14. SoCalClucker

    Reign of Terror

    Our flock of 8 had an RIR as the alpha for years and she was a calm, protective leader. She then passed, and an Australorp has stepped up and is creating a Reign of Terror. It's been well over a month now, but she still feels the need to assert herself by abusing the other girls. She still picks...
  15. SoCalClucker

    HELP-- pickin' chickens

    I hate it when they fight over pecking order, too. Unfortunately it's a necessary evil AFAIK. The only suggestion I can make is to give the silkies somewhere to hide. Can you leave the dog kennel in there, but with the door wedged open just enough for the silkies? Even a cardboard box with a...
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