First of all, about our chickens.....
"Hen(rietta)" and her chicks (12 of them... one "lost" - we think - taken by a hawk maybe)
BackYardChickens "buddies"... boy, do we need help!
We are totally "new" at this! We have so much to learn, and feel almost overwhelmed.
We are "learning" day by day... perhaps"observing" is a better way of putting it... or better yet "reacting
"
Our hen and 4 week old chicks just "adopted" us... by coming into our yard to live (they were abandoned by former neighbors).
Based on their size, they appeared to have just recently hatched (maybe a day or two prior when they came over).
We don't even know the exact breed they are but we think they're some sort of game variety. We looked at lots of photos on the web.
They have plenty of room to roam... we are letting them "free range" in our yard, as they apparently were used to before they came to us.
We built a nice sized chicken pen and a roosting "hut" (not big enough to call it a house) ... and they do go in to roost at night.
However, they prefer the yard... Now that they've grown, they can fly over the fence! And do! Either that, or walk through the main gate, which we open when we let them out in the a.m.
So... the reason for our post. (We posted a couple of days ago, in the emergency area, but no responders yet)... so we're writing you here.
We're worried... could some of you offer us advice please?
HELP! The chicks are "fighting rather fiercely"!
If the dominant chicks at war are little cocks... what should we do about this "battle for the "babes"?
Should we just let them work out the "pecking order"... so the dominant one defines his roll as "King of the roost"?
(We're afraid that some will lose their eyesight (or maybe have already)!
Even worse... we fear they might "fight to the finish" (which means that one of them loses the fight and his little life)!
A couple of them had red spots on their heads from the battles... and one even had a little blood!
Must they be separated?
They run away when we get near them, so we don't know how we're going to catch them if we do have to separate them.
We haven't been able to tame them... as they were shy even from the start.
Whatever they are - cocks or little hens... we are concerned because some are beginning to isolate themselves, perhaps for fear of being attacked again.
Or worse, maybe they are truly injured and need medical attention!
We hope to hear from some of you
Thanks, in advance... but hurry please! Some of them are suffering!
"Hen(rietta)" and her chicks (12 of them... one "lost" - we think - taken by a hawk maybe)
BackYardChickens "buddies"... boy, do we need help!
We are totally "new" at this! We have so much to learn, and feel almost overwhelmed.
We are "learning" day by day... perhaps"observing" is a better way of putting it... or better yet "reacting
Our hen and 4 week old chicks just "adopted" us... by coming into our yard to live (they were abandoned by former neighbors).
Based on their size, they appeared to have just recently hatched (maybe a day or two prior when they came over).
We don't even know the exact breed they are but we think they're some sort of game variety. We looked at lots of photos on the web.
They have plenty of room to roam... we are letting them "free range" in our yard, as they apparently were used to before they came to us.
We built a nice sized chicken pen and a roosting "hut" (not big enough to call it a house) ... and they do go in to roost at night.
However, they prefer the yard... Now that they've grown, they can fly over the fence! And do! Either that, or walk through the main gate, which we open when we let them out in the a.m.
So... the reason for our post. (We posted a couple of days ago, in the emergency area, but no responders yet)... so we're writing you here.
We're worried... could some of you offer us advice please?
HELP! The chicks are "fighting rather fiercely"!
If the dominant chicks at war are little cocks... what should we do about this "battle for the "babes"?
Should we just let them work out the "pecking order"... so the dominant one defines his roll as "King of the roost"?
(We're afraid that some will lose their eyesight (or maybe have already)!
Even worse... we fear they might "fight to the finish" (which means that one of them loses the fight and his little life)!
A couple of them had red spots on their heads from the battles... and one even had a little blood!
Must they be separated?
They run away when we get near them, so we don't know how we're going to catch them if we do have to separate them.
We haven't been able to tame them... as they were shy even from the start.
Whatever they are - cocks or little hens... we are concerned because some are beginning to isolate themselves, perhaps for fear of being attacked again.
Or worse, maybe they are truly injured and need medical attention!
We hope to hear from some of you
Thanks, in advance... but hurry please! Some of them are suffering!
