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So I think one of the younger ones laid an egg. I can't be sure though. Yesterday I found an egg on tbe activity center, which made 3, but not sure when it got there. Today 2 eggs, but usually they are in same nest box and they were not. So I am watching for 3 eggs in the next couple days.

So I'm thinking some dynamics will change. I was trying to open one of the feeders today and I believe Prince flogged me--it happened fast and there was no injury. I looked at him and said in a stern voice oh no you didn't. I swear I never saw a rooster move so fast go get away. I picked up a board and I walked around with it scooting him out of my way, way out of my way. After 5 minutes he was in the corner peaking at me. I actually had a conversation with him--I told him he better hide and he better never try that again. So hopefully it was a one time thing. I think that I'm going to start carrying him around everyday for a few minutes to get my point across. I can not have him go bad--I care to much.
 
llombardo said:
So I think one of the younger ones laid an egg. I can't be sure though. Yesterday I found an egg on tbe activity center, which made 3, but not sure when it got there. Today 2 eggs, but usually they are in same nest box and they were not. So I am watching for 3 eggs in the next couple days.

So I'm thinking some dynamics will change. I was trying to open one of the feeders today and I believe Prince flogged me--it happened fast and there was no injury. I looked at him and said in a stern voice oh no you didn't. I swear I never saw a rooster move so fast go get away. I picked up a board and I walked around with it scooting him out of my way, way out of my way. After 5 minutes he was in the corner peaking at me. I actually had a conversation with him--I told him he better hide and he better never try that again. So hopefully it was a one time thing. I think that I'm going to start carrying him around everyday for a few minutes to get my point across. I can not have him go bad--I care to much.
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Another egg, yay! Sounds like a good way getting your point across with Prince. Taking notes in case Diamond turns out to definitely be a cockerel. So far s/he is still my friendliest chick.
All the chicks slept on the roost last night for the first time. I guess they just took a couple days to figure out what they wanted to do after giving up the MHP. Sleeping in the open door was not a good choice, lol. They picked the coldest night so far to do it too. There was frost on my car windows when I went out to open the door.
 
I extended their area for supervised time. Just put up a couple nets which are a joy to get tangled in. And I gave them a pumpkin.

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BBZZZZTT said:
Mine are happier for the cold days! They were looking pretty worn down in the humid heat this summer!
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We had a record breaking summer here this year, it has cooled down extensively but still is a lot warmer than would usually be. Today the hens were dust bathing and basking in the sun, I just hope our weather cools gradually and not change all of a sudden, without giving the birds time to acclimatize.
 
Anna Ranieri said:
@ChooksNQuilts I had a rethink about keeping Roo indoors at night b'cos I realised it won't be long before our weather turns cold and if I keep her indoors for too long she won't have time to acclimatise for the winter. It is still quite mild here at the moment so I thought it best to get her out there now while the weather is still warm so she will be out there as it gradually turns cold.
Tonight is her first night.
She cried for ages when I put her in the hutch, she didn't want to go in there and didn't want me to leave her even though she is with Lilah. It took everything in my not to scoop her up and bring her back indoors.
Although she eventually settled and is asleep, I am a bag of nerves and my stomach is so knotted it hurts and I am too anxious to sleep and it doesn't help that a short while ago I realised I've forgotten to put her teddy bear in with her and I feel awful about that too.
I hope with all my heart I've done the right thing.

Pedro and Jellybean still haven't quite gotten over the shock of waking one morning to finding Lilah in there and are still very cautious of Lilah. Jellybean stays in the nesting area until she is absolutely sure Lilah has gone, Pedro comes out into the main area where Lilah (and now Roo also) are when she hears me coming to let them out but she is always very anxious and weary of Lilah and doesn't take her eyes off Lilah then as soon as I open the door she shoots out, just in case Lilah does something to her, although Lilah never does. I am hoping this will go in my favour and that both hens will be so focused on Lilah they won't take notice of Roo.

I can't be sure if Lilah did this on purpose or not but tonight when I put Roo in, Roo headed for the nesting area a couple of times but both times Lilah stood in front of the entrance so Roo couldn't go in and on the second occasion had left a bit of a gap but when Roo went to poke her head through the gap Lilah moved forward so she couldn't. I am hoping with all my heart that Lilah did this purposely to stop Roo venturing into where JB & Pedro are.

If you think I've done the wrong thing please please tell me and I'll go get her and bring her back in.
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Don't know if you'll see this but Roo is back indoors with us. We had two great nights without a hitch then tonight all went bad. For what ever reason Lilah decided she wants to sleep in the nest box too. I have no idea what happened as we had already shut and covered their hutch and had locked the run, all I know is I heard a commotion, heard a hen clucking profusely and Roo screaming her head off, and it went on for ages. I panicked trying to get the run key out of my pocket and kept dropping it, but when I did finally get in and I uncovered their hutch to find Jellybean panicking and clucking her head off in the main area with Roo behind her running back and forth screaming her head off, Lilah in the nesting area bedded down for sleep slightly behind Pedro (which was where Jellybean was sleeping when I closed their doors).
I don't know if anyone attacked or got pecked, I don't know if Lilah kicked out Jellybean from the area or if Jellybean freaked out at seeing Lilah enter and ran into the main area where Roo was and I don't know why Roo didn't go in with Lilah or whether she tried and got chased out, nor do I know if Roo got attacked or was just freaked out by Jellybean being there and no Lilah. I feel so sorry for Jellybean who has slept with Pedro since she was one week old and is now in the main area on her own.
I now things would have settled eventually but the noise they were making was so loud and so intense, I can't risk another noise complaint.
Tomorrow we will be putting the last coat of paint on the new coup, we hope to have it up and running by monday, if not tuesday, but how on earth the hens will react to having to sleep together in the same area I just don't know, but it is worrying me half to death.
 
Geranium said:
I know they're still very young, but I'm giving this girl the "please don't be a cockerel" side eye. She's 17 days old and a Blue Orpington. She's always been bigger than my two Buff Orpingtons, has a bigger comb, and has the start of wattles. Nothing is pink or red yet, but she's still getting the side eye from me. You're so pretty! Please be a pullet! View attachment 1545066
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She could still be a pullet.
One of my two Partridge Rocks is significantly larger than the other one.
She wasn’t larger than the Black Australorp chick that turned out to be a cockerel.
I knew he was a boy at 10 days old because he was so much heavier than the 11 other chicks I had.
Just a larger, husky thick legged chick.
And he still is at 3 months!
 

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