We had a very similar injury caused by a cockerel that attacked a pullet. He actually killed another pullet at the same time.
I cleaned the wound and then applied a salve for about a week. She also had an odd “flap” of skin/feathers that kind of dangled a bit. I left that alone (per our neighbor...
Our silkie cockerel did the same thing to our pullets, but they (by that point) were already integrated into the main flock with the adults. He completely avoided the adults but continued to mount/try to mount the bantams and standard pullet. We did end up culling him though because he attacked...
It ended up raining all day yesterday and most of today, so I didn’t want to sit outside with them. Hopefully we can get some nice weather tomorrow so I can be on stand by.
I’m getting ready to integrate some chicks into my existing flock but wondered your thoughts. My usual integration process is pretty simple. I put the newbies in my second coop that shares a run wall with my main coop and keep them in the look but no touch set-up for about a month (shorter if an...
Our barred rock rooster was a complete turd and we ended up getting rid of him. He continued to be a turd at his new home and was culled. Our neighbor got a barred rock rooster for her flock and he attacked her grandson. I was talking to a guy at the feed store and his worst rooster was also a...
Yup, I agree with what’s been said. My australorps have always been on the lower end of the pecking order. Our barred rocks that we have had have always been very friendly, but there has always been 1 near or on the top of the pecking order. And each time we lost or re-homed a roo, that’s when...
Haha! I love the jockey visual!!!
The odd thing is that the silkie is part of the bantie flock (they were all purchased together) and the barred rock has been an outcast (specifically because of the silkie pushing her and the EE who the hawk got out of the bantie flock). They were all purchased...
My husband and youngest brought home some chicks in the early spring (1 silkie, 2 red breasted old english game bantams, 2 d’uccle, 1 EE and 1 barred rock). The silkie turned out to the cockerel and I had some issues with him and the 2 standard pullets after integrating them into my main coop...
We got a couple new chicks from the feed store a few weeks ago. Two came from a bin labeled Golden Laced Wyandottes but one is starting to get white feathers and the other the brown/golden. The one with the white also has lighter markings on the face. Did we maybe get a golden and silver laced...
As you know, there is a risk of loss with free-ranging and it sounds like you have multiple places for them to get under. That’s about all you can do if you’re free ranging.
When we’ve had attacks, from any predator, I keep mine confined to the coop and run for about 3 days, unless we are still...
I’ve never heard this about black chickens deterring hawks. For us, it wasn’t the case as we’ve lost multiple australorps and jersey giants to hawks. Interesting concept though because the crows near us do keep the hawks away, when they (crows) are around.
I know this is an older post, but I have a dominant brahma hen that fluxes between the top and second to the top of the pecking order. I recently integrated multiple bantam chicks and 2 standard chicks (EE and barred rock) into my existing flock and didn’t have any issues with the brahma. I did...
I’m so sorry! We’ve lost many over the years from old age and predators alike but it never gets easier. The predator losses are the hardest and I am always heartbroken when it happens. It’s even hard when it’s the cranky girls/boys that go. The last couple we lost were our sons’ favorites and...
Whatever had been going on with the silkie and the 2 standard pullets seems to have passed. Last night the same 2 bantam pullets were back with the big girls on the main roost again (and this time they were directly next to the top hen). Another bantam pullet was on another roost by herself and...
Well, making some baby steps. Two of the bantam pullets were roosted on the main roost with the big girls last night. The silkie cockerel was beside himself, pacing back and forth under the roost and clucking away, but no one moved, including the big girls. This morning the barred rock was still...
Yes, you’ve got exactly what I’m saying! I’ve never had this happen with a cockerel doing this before (well I have had past issues with cockerels injuring younger pullets) but not this same situation. I’ve also never had bantams, silkies or tried to combine the 2 with standards before, so all of...