Breaking up the band

[JenniferC]

So I'm giving away a few chicks today, and one is one of my four week olds. I only have one other four week old, and the rest are 1 week.

Will my other 4 week old be really lonely? Or will she bond with the other chicks, especially as they age up a bit?

The 4 week old I'm giving away is kind've aggressive, which is why she's on the hit list. I do feel bad giving away my chicken's friend, though.

It'll be OK, won't it?

 

[JenniferC]

Funny story- I just went downstairs and I had moved 2 chicks into a smaller box next to my main brooder to keep my 1 brand new Light Brahma company. My 2 girls big enough to fly into the box had flown in there to see their friends- and left one 1 week old non-flyer peeping like crazy back in the brooder.

Since they had all gotten into the 2 sq ft box together anyway, I moved them all back into the main brooder to be together. The aggressive 4 week old I'm giving away keeps picking at my other 4 week old. Odd- I worried she'd attach the baby, but instead she picks on her peer. I noticed the same thing last time I added younger chicks.

It's like my dominant bird says, "I know there something different around here- and I blame YOU!"

 

[peruvian_princess]

LOL yeah typicall chick behaviour LOL!

 

[JenniferC]

I've gotten some perspective vis-a-vis my first post. In "nature" baby chicks loose clutch mates all the time. They bond with the other chickens that are still around.

My older daughter, on the other hand, is going to loose it completely when I tell her I decreased our flock from 6 to four. But as three is the legal limit, I think I'm right in doing this. As it is we're going to have too many for the eglu I'm getting from a friend.

The bottom line i that I'm the one who will be taking care of them- so I have to be the one to make the decisions. It kills me, though.