Bad Luck Bantams

[thecatumbrella]

A converted shed is a very good solution if you have the space. But there are more in between possibilities between that and the Omlet. Solutions that aren’t expensive at all too.

If you gave doubt about the Omlet extension or the Nestera look at this idea:
I bought a children’s playhouse (article) and converted it to a coop. If you put a playhouse on a frame to obtain a good hight, with an area underneath for a food station and shade its a nice solution. Converting it was not a difficult project and you can place it at a more convenient spot.

View attachment 4207850

Okay, this is sending me down a rabbit hole in the best way. Thank you! I was looking at converting a dog house at one point, but this has better overhead space.

Also, fun story (which I'm praying doesn't offend anyone): I had a shed like this when I was 6 years-old... so 1989? My mom painted it white and then let me decorate the exterior with colorful hand paints. She was in a rock band at the time, and they had started to practice The Beatle's "Back in the U.S.S.R.", so I decided to name my shed the "U.S.S.R. Club" in giant red letters. My mother was mortified, but all the adults had a good laugh before forcing me to paint over and rename it. Hey, I'm 6 years-old. I don't understand world politics. The song was just catchy!

 

[thecatumbrella]

~ AND THEN THERE WERE THREE ~​

I wasn't sure what to expect after Dandelion's week in the partitioned run. @BDutch mentioned it could take at least 3 weeks to see results. azygous's method is a slow burn. But I knew going into this that I didn't have much gas left in the tank. Dandelion's been sleeping in my basement for 2 weeks, both due to the broody-breaking process (my run is not 100% secure for her to sleep in) and the Eglu fiasco with Clover. I needed some sort of progress to keep us going.

So I left the door open for her. She darted into the main run, happy as a clam.

Hornet started into her immediately. Full-blown attacking, latching onto feathers, chasing up over and around every obstacle. It was like no time had passed at all. Dandelion, to her credit, had FANTASTIC body language, a huge improvement from 1 week ago. I was able to see, firsthand, that victim separation works to improve their confidence. As I went to remove Hornet, she squatted for me (first time). Everyone is clearly hormonal. I popped her over to the partitioned area, then sat down to observe Dandelion on Clover dynamics.

The first 30 minutes were like a dream. Clover did not forget the abuse she'd suffered at Dandelion's hands beak and remained tentative, but Dandelion looked to be a reformed chicken. She left Clover alone. She roosted near Clover peacefully. She FORAGED next to her! I couldn't believe it... and I had good reason not to.

Dandelion slowly transitioned back to her old ways. Her personal mantra is: "What's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine." And yes, all chickens are like this to some degree, but Dandy takes it so far that it becomes borderline bullying. My husband even admitted it's hard to watch and reminds him of schoolyard bullies.

Here's a 5 minute snippet:
- Clover begins dust bathing. Dandelion kicks Clover out of her hole and steals it.
- Clover moves over to the feeder, several feet away, and just stands there. Dandelion stops dust bathing to peck her away, not even bothering to eat.
- Clover heads over to the waterer for a drink. Dandelion follows moments later and pecks her away from the waterer.
- Clover sits under the bench and shuts her eyes. Dandelion finishes her drink and smacks Clover on the head.
- Clover attempts to resume her dust bath. Dandelion chases her off and steals her hole again.
- Clover walks past Dandelion while she's deep into her dust bath; legs are paralyzed and everything. Dandelion still has enough venom to peck at Clover as she passes.
- Clover resigns to sitting on the other side of the run, alone, and hides behind a bucket.

Like I said, I get it: this is chicken society. Chickens are cruel. Dandelion is not a true bully like Hornet. I don't have to worry about her injuring Clover in the run (the coop's another story). But she makes Clover's life absolutely miserable. Before Clover, it was Willow. Is it because they're sickly? Is it because they're the only birds below her, and Dandy does not want to lose her status? I have no idea, and honestly, it doesn't matter. I don't want a personality like Dandelion in my small, confined flock.

Of course, the fact that Hornet's "getting away" with her bullying feels like . I'm very disappointed that there was zero change with a week of separation. And I don't understand it! I've heard broodies can become bullied when they return to the flock, but Dandelion was no longer broody. She wasn't sick. The flock stayed together during the broody-breaking process. It's almost like Hornet just decided that she hated this bird. Maybe she observed how Dandelion treated Clover (and Willow before that) and decided, "You're not doing that to me! Get outta here!" That feels like too much of a human thought process, but who knows. Chickens are smarter than we give them credit for.

So Dandelion's off to her new home this afternoon. It's someone I've rehomed to before, and they have a gentle bantam flock with a large coop and run. She will be well loved and cared for.

We will continue on with the 3 for now. I don't expect it to last, given our history, but you never know. Cross your fingers beaks, everyone.

Edit: Just to give some context as the why I'm out of gas: I've had 5 DAYS where my flock has "gotten along" in the last 2 months, and no one needed to be separated. I'm truly tired.

Dandelion, Hornet, and Poppy share some rainbow chard.​

 

[Mother of Chaos]

~ AND THEN THERE WERE THREE ~​

I wasn't sure what to expect after Dandelion's week in the partitioned run. @BDutch mentioned it could take at least 3 weeks to see results. azygous's method is a slow burn. But I knew going into this that I didn't have much gas left in the tank. Dandelion's been sleeping in my basement for 2 weeks, both due to the broody-breaking process (my run is not 100% secure for her to sleep in) and the Eglu fiasco with Clover. I needed some sort of progress to keep us going.

So I left the door open for her. She darted into the main run, happy as a clam.

Hornet started into her immediately. Full-blown attacking, latching onto feathers, chasing up over and around every obstacle. It was like no time had passed at all. Dandelion, to her credit, had FANTASTIC body language, a huge improvement from 1 week ago. I was able to see, firsthand, that victim separation works to improve their confidence. As I went to remove Hornet, she squatted for me (first time). Everyone is clearly hormonal. I popped her over to the partitioned area, then sat down to observe Dandelion on Clover dynamics.

The first 30 minutes were like a dream. Clover did not forget the abuse she'd suffered at Dandelion's hands beak and remained tentative, but Dandelion looked to be a reformed chicken. She left Clover alone. She roosted near Clover peacefully. She FORAGED next to her! I couldn't believe it... and I had good reason not to.

Dandelion slowly transitioned back to her old ways. Her personal mantra is: "What's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine." And yes, all chickens are like this to some degree, but Dandy takes it so far that it becomes borderline bullying. My husband even admitted it's hard to watch and reminds him of schoolyard bullies.

Here's a 5 minute snippet:
- Clover begins dust bathing. Dandelion kicks Clover out of her hole and steals it.
- Clover moves over to the feeder, several feet away, and just stands there. Dandelion stops dust bathing to peck her away, not even bothering to eat.
- Clover heads over to the waterer for a drink. Dandelion follows moments later and pecks her away from the waterer.
- Clover sits under the bench and shuts her eyes. Dandelion finishes her drink and smacks Clover on the head.
- Clover attempts to resume her dust bath. Dandelion chases her off and steals her hole again.
- Clover walks past Dandelion while she's deep into her dust bath; legs are paralyzed and everything. Dandelion still has enough venom to peck at Clover as she passes.
- Clover resigns to sitting on the other side of the run, alone, and hides behind a bucket.

Like I said, I get it: this is chicken society. Chickens are cruel. Dandelion is not a true bully like Hornet. I don't have to worry about her injuring Clover in the run (the coop's another story). But she makes Clover's life absolutely miserable. Before Clover, it was Willow. Is it because they're sickly? Is it because they're the only birds below her, and Dandy does not want to lose her status? I have no idea, and honestly, it doesn't matter. I don't want a personality like Dandelion in my small, confined flock.

Of course, the fact that Hornet's "getting away" with her bullying feels like . I'm very disappointed that there was zero change with a week of separation. And I don't understand it! I've heard broodies can become bullied when they return to the flock, but Dandelion was no longer broody. She wasn't sick. The flock stayed together during the broody-breaking process. It's almost like Hornet just decided that she hated this bird. Maybe she observed how Dandelion treated Clover (and Willow before that) and decided, "You're not doing that to me! Get outta here!" That feels like too much of a human thought process, but who knows. Chickens are smarter than we give them credit for.

So Dandelion's off to her new home this afternoon. It's someone I've rehomed to before, and they have a gentle bantam flock with a large coop and run. She will be well loved and cared for.

We will continue on with the 3 for now. I don't expect it to last, given our history, but you never know. Cross your fingers beaks, everyone.

Edit: Just to give some context as the why I'm out of gas: I've had 5 DAYS where my flock has "gotten along" in the last 2 months, and no one needed to be separated. I'm truly tired.

View attachment 4209319

Dandelion, Hornet, and Poppy share some rainbow chard.​

I’m so sorry, but it really sounds like you did all you could. Sometimes you just get dealt a crappy hand. I’m glad Dandelion has a good home to go to! And I hope that the others will FINALLY settle down.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I’m so sorry, but it really sounds like you did all you could. Sometimes you just get dealt a crappy hand. I’m glad Dandelion has a good home to go to! And I hope that the others will FINALLY settle down.

Thank you. I'm hoping they all start to lay over the next month so we can get to a "final product". It's just so hard to predict how they'll act before then.

Hope you're making some progress with your broody/bully as well!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Thank you. I'm hoping they all start to lay over the next month so we can get to a "final product". It's just so hard to predict how they'll act before then.

Hope you're making some progress with your broody/bully as well!

Thanks! She’s definitely no longer broody, and she’s toned down the bullying a bit, but still pushes the bossiness category too far, especially around food.

She’s always been weird about food since we got her. She’d drop something from her beak and run to steal the same thing from the other two, losing the original piece to Patiently Sneaky Buffy, who just waited until the coast was clear.

She may have met her match, though! One of the two youngun’s, Tessa (Speckled Sussex) snatched a chunk of ground beef right from her beak and ran, a merry chase that lasted quite a while!

 

[ChickenChick46]

~ AND THEN THERE WERE THREE ~​

I wasn't sure what to expect after Dandelion's week in the partitioned run. @BDutch mentioned it could take at least 3 weeks to see results. azygous's method is a slow burn. But I knew going into this that I didn't have much gas left in the tank. Dandelion's been sleeping in my basement for 2 weeks, both due to the broody-breaking process (my run is not 100% secure for her to sleep in) and the Eglu fiasco with Clover. I needed some sort of progress to keep us going.

So I left the door open for her. She darted into the main run, happy as a clam.

Hornet started into her immediately. Full-blown attacking, latching onto feathers, chasing up over and around every obstacle. It was like no time had passed at all. Dandelion, to her credit, had FANTASTIC body language, a huge improvement from 1 week ago. I was able to see, firsthand, that victim separation works to improve their confidence. As I went to remove Hornet, she squatted for me (first time). Everyone is clearly hormonal. I popped her over to the partitioned area, then sat down to observe Dandelion on Clover dynamics.

The first 30 minutes were like a dream. Clover did not forget the abuse she'd suffered at Dandelion's hands beak and remained tentative, but Dandelion looked to be a reformed chicken. She left Clover alone. She roosted near Clover peacefully. She FORAGED next to her! I couldn't believe it... and I had good reason not to.

Dandelion slowly transitioned back to her old ways. Her personal mantra is: "What's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine." And yes, all chickens are like this to some degree, but Dandy takes it so far that it becomes borderline bullying. My husband even admitted it's hard to watch and reminds him of schoolyard bullies.

Here's a 5 minute snippet:
- Clover begins dust bathing. Dandelion kicks Clover out of her hole and steals it.
- Clover moves over to the feeder, several feet away, and just stands there. Dandelion stops dust bathing to peck her away, not even bothering to eat.
- Clover heads over to the waterer for a drink. Dandelion follows moments later and pecks her away from the waterer.
- Clover sits under the bench and shuts her eyes. Dandelion finishes her drink and smacks Clover on the head.
- Clover attempts to resume her dust bath. Dandelion chases her off and steals her hole again.
- Clover walks past Dandelion while she's deep into her dust bath; legs are paralyzed and everything. Dandelion still has enough venom to peck at Clover as she passes.
- Clover resigns to sitting on the other side of the run, alone, and hides behind a bucket.

Like I said, I get it: this is chicken society. Chickens are cruel. Dandelion is not a true bully like Hornet. I don't have to worry about her injuring Clover in the run (the coop's another story). But she makes Clover's life absolutely miserable. Before Clover, it was Willow. Is it because they're sickly? Is it because they're the only birds below her, and Dandy does not want to lose her status? I have no idea, and honestly, it doesn't matter. I don't want a personality like Dandelion in my small, confined flock.

Of course, the fact that Hornet's "getting away" with her bullying feels like . I'm very disappointed that there was zero change with a week of separation. And I don't understand it! I've heard broodies can become bullied when they return to the flock, but Dandelion was no longer broody. She wasn't sick. The flock stayed together during the broody-breaking process. It's almost like Hornet just decided that she hated this bird. Maybe she observed how Dandelion treated Clover (and Willow before that) and decided, "You're not doing that to me! Get outta here!" That feels like too much of a human thought process, but who knows. Chickens are smarter than we give them credit for.

So Dandelion's off to her new home this afternoon. It's someone I've rehomed to before, and they have a gentle bantam flock with a large coop and run. She will be well loved and cared for.

We will continue on with the 3 for now. I don't expect it to last, given our history, but you never know. Cross your fingers beaks, everyone.

Edit: Just to give some context as the why I'm out of gas: I've had 5 DAYS where my flock has "gotten along" in the last 2 months, and no one needed to be separated. I'm truly tired.

View attachment 4209319

Dandelion, Hornet, and Poppy share some rainbow chard.​

I'm so sorry you had to get rid of Dandelion. But you've truly done everything you can do to try to maintain harmony in your flock. I hope that things get better now and everyone else will be able to get along!