Wow! No wonder your ulcer kicked in, so much work,stress and all on so little sleep - sounds to me like you are someone who can't rest until the job is done? Your rewards will be tenfold though - Has to be said though its quite an achievement all you have done - well done you
Wally woke me up bright and early with a crow this morning, it’s much more high pitch than normal. But I’ll take it!
Decided to bite the bullet today and follow your instructions to the T - I had to go out today I had no choice and had to lock the birds in their run for a little over 5 hours, I didn't lock Lilah or Roo in the hutch as I usually do, I put them straight in the run with the others and everyone is fineWell I’m glad you are finding me helpful.
I’ve been going through raising chicks and integrating so much in the last 6 months it feels like it’s been going on even longer.
I’ve made mistakes and want to help others avoid them if possible.
A rabbit hutch is a poor coop for 4 chickens.
I’m sorry and I truly don’t want to make you feel bad because I know that’s all you have right now but each chicken needs a minimum of space in order to avoid aggression issues.
Thankfully you have a temporary situation that works for now but seeing as how you are having a legal battle just to keep them I guess building anything would be silly until you find out whether you can even keep them.
In the event that it turns out that you can keep them, you’ll want to address space needs for everyone, especially in winter when they may spend a lot more time in their coop out of the snow.
I wouldn’t waste your time tracking any pecking or things like that.
They are always going to do that.
Forever.
It’s just the way they are.
As I mentioned, it’s only an issue if it’s relentless, and the targeted bird is being cornered or a lot of blood is drawn.
A few feathers pulled is a fact of life but I’d say you shouldn’t be seeing that every day.
About hiding places:
It’s important that the lower ranking birds are not going to get cornered in the hiding place!
When I say hiding places I mean where they can get out of sight without being trapped by another bird chasing them.
So by example, if you lean a sheet of wood or a pallet against a wall or fence, it leaves both sides open so they don’t get trapped.
Here is a pallet leaned up against our shed on the left.
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Here’s a sheet of plywood leaned against the back fence.
View attachment 1534771 View attachment 1534772
I put these here for the bantams and the babies.
The babies will outgrow them but by that time they can usually defend themselves just fine.
And be aware that you can adjust the angle so that only Roo can fit behind there.
She will have to learn about these spots on her own though.
I don’t think you need more waterers or feeders. Seven is plenty lol.
It sounds like they’re doing fine.
Take a while to watch them and if they’re generally relaxed throughout the day then you really don’t have a serious problem.
They’re always going to have little spats throughout the day but they’ll be very short.
Just relax and enjoy them.
You’re doing better than you realize!
Keep us updated on the legal fight.
I had put boards up around the edge in the run but they had been knocked down when I got back I'm guessing it was the drakes because they can be so very clumsy, they are often tripping over things and knocking into things but thankfully no one has any injuries and all is well - Roo more often chooses the upturned plant pots to hide behind so I re-positioned them so she could get out the other side like you advised me - next mission will be to let them sleep together but I got to rebuild my courage before that so might be a little while yet.
Even if she wasn’t vaccinated, go right ahead and boil the eggs and feed them back to them. Mine are in a withdrawal (so I can’t eat the eggs for another week) I’ve been boiling and feeding them back to the chickens. It’s very good for them to get animal protein.Decided to bite the bullet today and follow your instructions to the T - I had to go out today I had no choice and had to lock the birds in their run for a little over 5 hours, I didn't lock Lilah or Roo in the hutch as I usually do, I put them straight in the run with the others and everyone is fine
Lilah has laid 3 eggs so far, one each day, I though chickens only lay them every other day or something but not everyday? Anyway she is fully vaccinated, which includes a vaccine for salmonella, so do you think it would be safe and ok for me to boil them up for the flock to eat? - We not really a great lover of eggs so won't be eating them ourselves, could gift them to family or friends but quite like the idea of the birds getting all that goodness and Lilah getting the goodness back.
If you kept them together for 5 hours then I’d say they’re integrated!Decided to bite the bullet today and follow your instructions to the T - I had to go out today I had no choice and had to lock the birds in their run for a little over 5 hours, I didn't lock Lilah or Roo in the hutch as I usually do, I put them straight in the run with the others and everyone is fine
Lilah has laid 3 eggs so far, one each day, I though chickens only lay them every other day or something but not everyday? Anyway she is fully vaccinated, which includes a vaccine for salmonella, so do you think it would be safe and ok for me to boil them up for the flock to eat? - We not really a great lover of eggs so won't be eating them ourselves, could gift them to family or friends but quite like the idea of the birds getting all that goodness and Lilah getting the goodness back.
Yay Wally!! I’m so glad he’s recovering!Wally woke me up bright and early with a crow this morning, it’s much more high pitch than normal. But I’ll take it!
