- Jul 1, 2010
- 5
- 0
- 7
I think I'm cross posting, but I'm new to this forum, so I'm not sure if my other post went through. Please bear with me...
I have three 9 week old RI Reds who are doing just fine (in spite of the heat). I lucked out and got to take in a 1 year old golden buff (sweet thing) who, due to being out of the coop for a while, was getting pecked to death by her old flock. Well, she certainly rules the roost around here! So here are my questions:
1. How much pecking is normal? I had the birds completely separated for 24 hours (she just got a completely clean bill of health from the vet, so I'm not worried about quarantining). Today I let them all run around together in the open run, which is quite large. The three little ones stuck together away from the buff, but she didn't go after them even when they came close. There was some reasonably good natured pecking though. I'm planning on having them apart again tonight, because I think that cooped together there might be a war. How long do you recommend I wait?
2. If she's not allowed in the coop, how should I go about getting her to lay in the nesting box when she does go in the coop? I have it set up with a couple of golf balls for when she's ready. She did lay today. but she was eating the egg when I found it on the ground outside, which is not a habit I want her to get used to. Any suggestions?
I have three 9 week old RI Reds who are doing just fine (in spite of the heat). I lucked out and got to take in a 1 year old golden buff (sweet thing) who, due to being out of the coop for a while, was getting pecked to death by her old flock. Well, she certainly rules the roost around here! So here are my questions:
1. How much pecking is normal? I had the birds completely separated for 24 hours (she just got a completely clean bill of health from the vet, so I'm not worried about quarantining). Today I let them all run around together in the open run, which is quite large. The three little ones stuck together away from the buff, but she didn't go after them even when they came close. There was some reasonably good natured pecking though. I'm planning on having them apart again tonight, because I think that cooped together there might be a war. How long do you recommend I wait?
2. If she's not allowed in the coop, how should I go about getting her to lay in the nesting box when she does go in the coop? I have it set up with a couple of golf balls for when she's ready. She did lay today. but she was eating the egg when I found it on the ground outside, which is not a habit I want her to get used to. Any suggestions?
