Has your friend had any problems with the rooster? Roosters, from what I understand, integrate well when he is the only rooster
And geese are awesome! I've only had mine a couple of weeks, but they are super social. Mine are separated from my ducks and chickens because one of them is a gander...
Yup. More pullets would help a lot. I like this idea. Then Mary becomes part of the order. Who is your alpha hen? Could this be Peggy trying to take over from Mary?
Once it's warm enough for Mary to be outside with so many feathers missing, yes I can do that. That's the reason I bought those puppy play pen panels. Right now it's too chilly even during the day, and when it's not, there's no guarantee I'll be home to bring her in if the weather suddenly...
Agree with above. They need lots of distractions and space. I am currently doing the same. Two younger birds (4 month olds as well) integrating into the established one year olds. Doing the "look don't touchmethod" for at least a month before I even try to put them together. :)
Depends on what kind of setup you have.
I would actually bring the hen inside to look at the chicks.
Just see if her first instinct is to kill them, or to ignore them.
Once you know what her thoughts are you can decide if you need a screened off section in the coop for the "look don't touch"...
Poor Pheobe! She is most likely in shock after all of that!
How old are the six hens, what breeds and did you integrate her alone or did she integrate with a flock. If alone, that would be reason enough. If with a flock there could be several reasons. Are there multiple feeders, waters...
My brooder is actually a large wire cage I built. Bought the fencing in a roll and used j clips to build it. When they are young I put corrugated plastic (think election signs) sides on it to limit air flow in my shop from cooling them off too much. As they grow I take the sides off and move the...
Right so, no, no problems I don't think. They were meat birds that were too small when they did the main slaughter, but now they have like eight roosters which is about 4-6 too many. Right now since we are down to all females, my three ducks and nine chickens are all in a 10x10 enclosure...
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
Sorry about the dog attack. What is your run made of? Running a few hot wires around their setup does wonders at convincing dogs that chickens are terrifying creatures not to be messed with.
That whole "put the new birds in the coop at night and...
Thank you so much for the information and guidance!! So far she is doing great and still inside until she’s fully healed. Fingers are crossed infection stays away so she can join the rest of them soon (in a calmer, less violent way of course!). I did introduce her with only one other chicken, so...
Ohhh... okay. Well, I think I will give it another week or so. Right now the chicks are in the garage. I am constructing a 75 ft run that will hopefully be done tomorrow..its inside our yard that also has a privacy fence. I have 2 coops but only one is being used so I can section them off if i...
Thanks!🥰
She is OK now, just a little slower than she was before. My very mean (to other birds) Wyandotte pecked her very hard on top of her head during a failed integration attempt (and yes I did the look don't touchmethod for a month prior). I honestly thought she was going to die, but she...
Except that doesn't really work. It takes MONTHS for a hen to be completely accepted and integrated into the flock.
Define "rooster drama".
All 7 at once. A 22 day difference in age at POL pullets is not significant for integration.
Definitely do the "look, don't touch" method for at least a...
Our chicken-tegration is going fairly well so far! We used the "look don't touch" method for about a week, as suggested, with one short "play date" before fully putting them together yesterday. Our mouthy Penny is a bit of a bully, but no real harm done so far, and things seem to be calming down...
Im contemplating moving Elsa (my grumpy cochin) out before i integrate Esmeralda... but i wonder, since Esmeralda is large, if she will be ok. She's so sweet though, i don't see her standing up for herself if Elsa gets a jealous steak.
Thats a good idea. We have a ton of wire left over from our recent mobile tractor build. I believe we have j clips as well. That doesn't wound to complicated or to pricey. I'll definitely keep that in mind.
:welcome
Hello, thanks for joining us!
If you do a search, you'll find info on the look, don't touchmethod for introducing new birds to a flock. That's worked well for me and helps the birds to grow accustomed to each other.
Best wishes!