I would leave them be. Sometimes I will put a plank across a couple of the roosts, just to give a wider area. My chicks start roosting with the flock by 4 weeks +/-.
Sometimes it just goes that way. "Don't count your chicks before they hatch," is legit. Says the lady, who should have chicks tomorrow or Wednesday... and you know I am hoping!
If you can’t get all flock, I frequently can’t. You can feed chick feed to everything.
And if the wrong birds eat the wrong feed, they will be just fine. Even if chicks eat it or roosters, they may not live to be 7-8 years old, but a lot of chickens don’t anyway.
So I really don’t fret it too...
Yes he should be in the coup at night! He should stay with his girls all the time.
Do you have a very small coop? Maybe I am not understanding your question, why would you think he should not be in the coop?
Mrs k
Very different dietary view point for chickens. I feed mine commercial feed and kitchen scraps. No dairy other than what might get scraped off a plate.
When I consider bird diet, I consider wild birds like turkeys and sharp tail grouse. If that would not come into their diet, I would not add it...
Where did you get your diet advice, I have never heard of feeding chickens butter or oranges?
You never mentioned a bluish comb, or a pale grey. That has been the indication of heart disease for me. Or a weakness or lethargic action.
I think there is a strong possibility it was respiratory...
You need a sharp knife to get a good rooster. The longer you keep a rotten rooster, the longer it is until you get a nice one. A flock master is magic in your flock, a good rooster is ok to have, and a rotten rooster needs to be gone.
Some are aggressive with people, some are aggressive with...
I don't anything wrong. So I am wondering if it is the roosters?
I will tell you an anecdote, I generally keep a 8-13 hens, + rooster and fresh hatched chicks. I had lost a rooster, and was given two juvenile roosters. I really did not want 2, and planned on either harvesting one or giving it...
I think it is going to depend a huge amount on your available space. In a traditional back yard, maybe not. In a farm like setting, it might work.
But the truth of it is, maybe...maybe it will work, and maybe it won't. If it doesn't work, you need a plan that you can do.
Mrs K
The longest 21 days ever.
I too, thought it was a hidden nest. Mine will lay dutifully in their nests like pros, and then one day, hide a nest. For me, a sudden drop in production is always a hidden nest.
Thing is, the other hens will want to lay their too, and will go back and add eggs if...
Often times it is one or two that are the leaders and the rest just follow along. But it is not peaceful and kind of ruins the fun of watching them.
I do know exactly what you mean about the victims almost bringing it on, so aggravating.
I would put the four big girls in pin less peepers. That...
I would not put the cockerel with the chicks. I would put the chicks with the hens, I generally do that 3-4 weeks of age, but I have a lot of clutter, a lot of escapes for chicks, and a safety zone, and a lot of space.
I would put the cockerel in what you had the chicks in. I would get him gone...
I was thinking this very thing. Take her off the roost or off the floor in the near dark. The are nearly comatose at that time even if they are healthy.
The broomstick method is very quick. To warn you, no matter how you do it, the death throes generally scare people half to death because they...