BDutch's bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 🪺 🪺 and #6

[BDutch]

Look. This chick flies on the running board that goes to the gate/through the hole between the two runs.

It takes a few minutes for some chicks to understand how to get back to the large run.

 

[BDutch]

I’m starting to dislike the behaviour of Janice. She’s extremely protective and attacks me if I pick up a chick (to help).

Like yesterday. I let the 3 non-mama hens free range, but need to close the gate between the 2 runs (see previous post) to keep the chicks safe and make sure the 3 non-mama’s have access to feed, water a nestbox, and a homecoming place were I can give them a little scratch before locking them up again.

The yellow-white chick was still in this back run when I wanted to close the gate.

Here she is in the same position with 2 of her siblings.

Yellow was trying to go through the chicken wire to go to her mama’s and siblings. I picked her up and wanted to put her on the ramp/wooden plank to learn her that she should use the ramp to go up. But when Janice saw I had picked up Yellow, she came straight through the opening and attacked me by surprise.
Yellow fell of the plank and both Janice and Yellow went through the door to the big wide and dangerous world . Black followed immediately. I closed the gate to prevent the others to follow and went outside to shush them back in again .

I wonder, is there a way to change this super protective behaviour of Janice? I can’t think of any. I think she just doesn’t trust anyone in this world after being traumatised a a young pullet.

The 3 mama’s keeping an eye on the whereabouts of the chicks. The chicks are 2 weeks old now. (In the coop/ small covered run in front).

 

[BDutch]

Some years ago I had two red shouldered ( or pile coloured ) Dutch. They had a difficulty with grasping that you can’t go through chicken wire.

The light coloured chick is a Geelkoekoek
gelbsperber - buffcuckoo
and a not acknowledged breed.

And now this light coloured Dutch seems to have the same problem.
I think their IQ or orientation capabilities is below standard. And it might be an inbreed problem with the light coloured Dutch.

 

[BDutch]

Breeds and colours of the chicks:
2 bantam Sussex red porcelain (rood porselein)
3 bantam Vorwerk
4 Dutch in different colours
Silver partridge (zilverpatrijs)
Buffcuckoo (geel koekoek) ,
Cuckoo (koekoek),
Blue partridge (blauwpatrijs) - this could turn out to be a mix colour or normal partridge colour too because the true blue colour is only a 25% chance.

 

[RoyalChick]

I’m starting to dislike the behaviour of Janice. She’s extremely protective and attacks me if I pick up a chick (to help).

Like yesterday. I let the 3 non-mama hens free range, but need to close the gate between the 2 runs (see previous post) to keep the chicks safe and make sure the 3 non-mama’s have access to feed, water a nestbox, and a homecoming place were I can give them a little scratch before locking them up again.

The yellow-white chick was still in this back run when I wanted to close the gate.

View attachment 3512060
Here she is in the same position with 2 of her siblings.

Yellow was trying to go through the chicken wire to go to her mama’s and siblings. I picked her up and wanted to put her on the ramp/wooden plank to learn her that she should use the ramp to go up. But when Janice saw I had picked up Yellow, she came straight through the opening and attacked me by surprise.
Yellow fell of the plank and both Janice and Yellow went through the door to the big wide and dangerous world . Black followed immediately. I closed the gate to prevent the others to follow and went outside to shush them back in again .

I wonder, is there a way to change this super protective behaviour of Janice? I can’t think of any. I think she just doesn’t trust anyone in this world after being traumatised a a young pullet.

View attachment 3512059
The 3 mama’s keeping an eye on the whereabouts of the chicks. The chicks are 2 weeks old now. (In the coop/ small covered run in front).

I think Janice is just doing her job protecting her baby!

 

[BDutch]

I think Janice is just doing her job protecting her baby!

You are probably right. But I prefer my two black Dutch’s behaviour. They seen to trust me and aren’t a bit aggressive.

Its a bit like with 2 roosters I had protecting his ladies. They were a bit too aggressive to be good company. But the last one (bantam RIR) was kind towards me and maybe grasped that the landlady means wel.

 

[BDutch]

The differences in combs already start to show.
guessing
Vorwerk: 2 1
Red Sussex: 1 1
Dutch: 1 3

 

[ManueB]

How many pullets would you keep ? All five ?

 

[BDutch]

How many pullets would you keep ? All five ?

The 5 female chicks is a just a wild guess. They are way too young too be sure.
Without alterations I have room for max 10 chickens. With 6 adults, I can keep 4 pullets.

 

[BDutch]

Ini mini in the roost area.

Janice was trying to entice the chicks to jump onto the shelf under the perches where the adults roost. She shows how to do it. A few did try. But the shelf is still too high for the little ones.

Black and Pearl last Saturday.

Yesterday the weather was bad for an hour. It started to rain heavily and a little later a thunderstorm came over. I could go home before the worst of the rain to see if the chicks were dry snd was happy to see all the chicks in the covered run.

I have had a bad experience chicks in the rain 8 years ago. The chicks (with Black and Pearl amongst them) all started sneezing afterwards and one cockerel had a cold for 6 weeks.