Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[normanack]

That strong anise smell is what is the big turn off for me.....cannot bear licorice candy.    

Smells like the Christmas cookies my mom used to get from Germany every year. Doesn't taste like them, though.

 

[normanack]

Yeah, that last one.

It's like when 6 th graders finally get to 7 th grade and they are going to school with all the "big" kids...you either get tough or you become a wallflower all your high school days. Who wants wallflowers in the flock? Get 'em in there and let them learn the social structure of the flock. Any hen that is relentlessly pursuing the poor youngsters as they run away and making their life a living hell in the hallway should be taken to the principal's office and stewed. I just killed one like that last night....good riddance to bullies.

There is a difference in flock social pecking orders and plain ol' meanness and you can watch and see the difference. Most hens will peck them when they try to eat before she is finished or peck them down off her roosting spot....but to chase them or peck them and make them scream for the minor trespass of simply walking by? Watch that interaction and see if it's just not one hen doing all the picking. You might find that it is.

Okay, that went . . . kind of, well maybe not really, sort of well. . . maybe not.

Opened the door between the run which the babies were in and the general chicken yard. Tentative exploration from both factions. A few minor pecks when a baby went too close to a big chicken. Some chasing and pecking, not very persistent. The chicken would lose interest. Cool. It didn't seem to be any one chicken in particular -- I saw maybe half a dozen hens, and one rooster, peck at the babies, then walk away.

Babies horned in at the feed trough. That went surprisingly well, until one of the chickens noticed the baby and chased it away.

And that's where the real trouble began. One chasing chicken became a horde of chasing chickens. They cornered the baby and pecked it as a group. That was scary, and I broke them up. Then it happened again out in the yard, away from the food. One chicken pecked a baby, it squawked and ran, a bunch of chickens ran after it, cornered it, and started clobbering it.

I don't want to be overprotective, yet I don't want a bloody splat where a baby chicken used to be. For today I separated them again.

So what do you think? Some sort of hidey place? Or just keep giving them time together? To tell you the truth, I'm not sure those babies are smart enough to make use of a hidey-hole. One of them got trapped in the run right next to the wide-open door . . . another tried to escape through the yard's chain-link fence (wasn't gonna work). There really isn't anywhere they can go that a big chicken can't follow. The whole yard, run, and coop are fully chicken-accessible.

 

[Beekissed]

Sorry...I am no help at all. I've truly never had that happen before. I've integrated my whole flock with a batch of 30 3-4 wk old chicks and never had an incident like you described. The new chicks all traveled together and the old flock all did their thing and there was no mass bullying going on of the youngsters. Done that a couple of different times without any incidents....you've got me stumped on that one.

I got nothing.....

 

[Beekissed]

Got to thinking....maybe it's because I've already killed all the bullies in my culling process.

 

[bobbi-j]

Okay, that went . . . kind of, well maybe not really, sort of well. . . maybe not.

Opened the door between the run which the babies were in and the general chicken yard. Tentative exploration from both factions. A few minor pecks when a baby went too close to a big chicken. Some chasing and pecking, not very persistent. The chicken would lose interest. Cool. It didn't seem to be any one chicken in particular -- I saw maybe half a dozen hens, and one rooster, peck at the babies, then walk away.

Babies horned in at the feed trough. That went surprisingly well, until one of the chickens noticed the baby and chased it away.

And that's where the real trouble began. One chasing chicken became a horde of chasing chickens. They cornered the baby and pecked it as a group. That was scary, and I broke them up. Then it happened again out in the yard, away from the food. One chicken pecked a baby, it squawked and ran, a bunch of chickens ran after it, cornered it, and started clobbering it.

I don't want to be overprotective, yet I don't want a bloody splat where a baby chicken used to be. For today I separated them again.

So what do you think? Some sort of hidey place? Or just keep giving them time together? To tell you the truth, I'm not sure those babies are smart enough to make use of a hidey-hole. One of them got trapped in the run right next to the wide-open door . . . another tried to escape through the yard's chain-link fence (wasn't gonna work). There really isn't anywhere they can go that a big chicken can't follow. The whole yard, run, and coop are fully chicken-accessible.

Why not put out some hidey places? At least the chicks would have a chance of getting away. Is it one hen in particular that starts the chasing?

 

[normanack]

It's funny -- I used to read about the troubles other new chicken owners were having introducing younger birds and felt quite smug -- this summer I had three slightly younger ones that had been in a different brooder, and their introduction, while not full of rainbows, wasn't too bad. They basically ran like scared rats whenever they felt threatened, and the others would leave off. No attacks, whether single or in groups. Now they are full-fledged flock members, albeit at the lower (not the lowest) end of the pecking order.

The age difference is a little bigger this time, and most of the older chickens are laying and roostering vs. just being bigger babies. Maybe that's the difference . . . . or maybe the older ones just don't like the cut of the younger ones' jibs. . . . It'll work out one way or the other, and the world will keep on turning.

 

[Zanna]

Okay, that went . . . kind of, well maybe not really, sort of well. . . maybe not.

Opened the door between the run which the babies were in and the general chicken yard. Tentative exploration from both factions. A few minor pecks when a baby went too close to a big chicken. Some chasing and pecking, not very persistent. The chicken would lose interest. Cool. It didn't seem to be any one chicken in particular -- I saw maybe half a dozen hens, and one rooster, peck at the babies, then walk away.

Babies horned in at the feed trough. That went surprisingly well, until one of the chickens noticed the baby and chased it away.

And that's where the real trouble began. One chasing chicken became a horde of chasing chickens. They cornered the baby and pecked it as a group. That was scary, and I broke them up. Then it happened again out in the yard, away from the food. One chicken pecked a baby, it squawked and ran, a bunch of chickens ran after it, cornered it, and started clobbering it.

I don't want to be overprotective, yet I don't want a bloody splat where a baby chicken used to be. For today I separated them again.

So what do you think? Some sort of hidey place? Or just keep giving them time together? To tell you the truth, I'm not sure those babies are smart enough to make use of a hidey-hole. One of them got trapped in the run right next to the wide-open door . . . another tried to escape through the yard's chain-link fence (wasn't gonna work). There really isn't anywhere they can go that a big chicken can't follow. The whole yard, run, and coop are fully chicken-accessible.

I put a few milk/nursery bulb crates around upside down, the ones with lots of holes. The babies can run in and get away from the bigger birds if need be. When I put the chicks in the main coop as soon as they are fully feathered, I put them in at night under the milk crates. They seem to associate them with their new home and usually keep sleeping in there till too big to do so. I have never had any grown birds in the flock chase the biddies but I put in the crates for my own peace of mind. I also am introducing new chicks in the main coop at least every other month so I think the older birds just figure "nothing new!".

 

[armorfirelady]

Just a quick newbie question. 27 week old hens who havent started laying yet.....since it is the slow down time of the year for laying (which is fine with me, no artifical lights for winter here) does that mean they wont lay till spring? Vents are small still as well. The only interest they have in the nesting boxes is to sleep or poop in it

If they dont lay till spring thats fine I just didnt know if they would start laying with the time of the year & lay at least a few eggs over the winter or not.

Thanks

 

[NanaKat]

I have those hanging feeders in every pen with feed available all the time. I find that my flock bolt out the gates to free range each morning like a flooded river. They begin th trickle back into the pens late in the day depending upon their feeding styles. the more timid or younger birds make it back in to feed first. they will then go back out when the older girls come in to eat a d drink before roosting. That's when the younger birds get a little treat before going to roost. Routines are so I portent too.

 

[Beekissed]

Just a quick newbie question. 27 week old hens who havent started laying yet.....since it is the slow down time of the year for laying (which is fine with me, no artifical lights for winter here) does that mean they wont lay till spring? Vents are small still as well. The only interest they have in the nesting boxes is to sleep or poop in it

If they dont lay till spring thats fine I just didnt know if they would start laying with the time of the year & lay at least a few eggs over the winter or not.

Thanks

What breed? The heritage breeds take their old sweet time coming to maturity but when they do, they should lay right through winter for you this first year.