Colorado

[Mtn Margie]

Hi all I am new to Backyard Chickens. We live east of Colorado Springs and are new to having chickens. I have 8 buff Orpington hens and 1 buff Orpington rooster. I got 4 kids who just love having them. I also have a doberman who just lays around the yard with them.lol

So glad that you could join us! Orpingtons are awesome birds.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Welcome also from Loveland.

Adore the orpingtons. So very even tempered.


Uzi I sent you a pm. If the other person does not want the pullets I will have them available. I will let you know for sure. I wont sell them to anyone else (other than the other person interested) until we have talked.
I have large breeds that are kind of on the broody side of life lol.
I hope Suncatcher has some that will fit your flock.

 

[Ashdoes]

Well, I came home from work to major drama in my little flock. After months of no issues, Memnoch decided to try & kill Odysseus sometime during the day. My poor little rooster is banged up pretty bad, but probably worse for him is that he's no longer Alpha. His hens dropped him pretty fast. I was a little surprised by that.

I have them separated right now so Odysseus can heal & not get attacked more. I am wondering if I added more hens if they could be in the same flock again? I knew I probably didn't have enough hens for both of them but was really hoping they'd make it through to next spring. I was pushing my luck & Odysseus paid for it. I feel really terrible. He's not going to die from the wounds, but he is special to me & that makes me a lot more emotionally invested in him & willing to do whatever I can to get him back into the flock (with the exception of killing Memnoch - that is a last resort option). I ended up with those hens because of him! Anyhow, any suggestions, tips, etc. are greatly appreciated from y'all.

Pretty sure this might have killed any urge in me to hatch again.

If I remember correctly, Odysseus is a dwarf breed, right? I'd suggest getting him some of his own girls, bantam girls. We had a silkie roo, with all standard girls and they grew to be real aggressive with him. Once we got him a couple silkies hens, they immediately made their own little flock, and all got along much better. I'm the type to get attached to specific birds as well, and would have no problem removing the aggressive boy, and have done so before. But, if you're looking for more birds anyways, getting him his own girls is a great first step.

 

[Ashdoes]

Hi all I am new to Backyard Chickens. We live east of Colorado Springs and are new to having chickens. I have 8 buff Orpington hens and 1 buff Orpington rooster. I got 4 kids who just love having them. I also have a doberman who just lays around the yard with them.lol

Welcome! We had a Doby while our two girls were younger, it is our all time favorite breed, and we look forward to when we can get another. He never chased another living thing, so I imagine chickens would have been his buddies as well.

 

[suncatcher]

Quote: I too was thinking Bantam cochins might be a better fit for the little guy..... and they are super mellow.

Uzi, Looks like my EE pullets are sold, will know for sure on Monday. I could have sold 30 of them, tons of interest! If you are still wanting to add them to your flock, I can order more, just let me know.

 

[uzisuzuki]

If I remember correctly, Odysseus is a dwarf breed, right? I'd suggest getting him some of his own girls, bantam girls. We had a silkie roo, with all standard girls and they grew to be real aggressive with him. Once we got him a couple silkies hens, they immediately made their own little flock, and all got along much better. I'm the type to get attached to specific birds as well, and would have no problem removing the aggressive boy, and have done so before. But, if you're looking for more birds anyways, getting him his own girls is a great first step.

Yes, Odysseus is my tiny Sebright. I switched out roosters this evening in the flock & the Polish girls were back to following Ody around. I'm hoping that expanding the locked in pen area & increasing the amount of hens will help things settle back into the sub-flocks everyone was in. Could the fact that the Polish girls, the Sumatra & Mercury are the only sexually mature females (the youngest 3 still haven't gotten there yet) be the reason the males are fighting over them? That sounds like a dumb question when I type it all out, but I don't know anything.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I was thinking about Ody and his son and the fighting. I think they are fighting over the girls because that is what roosters do. Many critters have that battle between the males so only natural it would happen in our crazy flocks too.

How old are your young ones?

I am thinking getting some girls the same size as Ody or bigger girls for the young cockerel should help. I sure hope you don't have to build a second coop AND a pea pen.

The person that was looking to add hens has decided to wait til spring so if nothing else there are my big butted gals lol. I am not sure they would be a good fit since they are so much larger than your existing birds. I would feel really bad if your females were injured or plucked by larger girls.
The girls can be pretty mean too.

I will certainly keep my eyes peeled for any that may work for you.

I hope Ody is feeling better very soon. He is such a handsome little fellow.

 

[coop410silkies]

Well, I came home from work to major drama in my little flock. After months of no issues, Memnoch decided to try & kill Odysseus sometime during the day. My poor little rooster is banged up pretty bad, but probably worse for him is that he's no longer Alpha. His hens dropped him pretty fast. I was a little surprised by that.

I have them separated right now so Odysseus can heal & not get attacked more. I am wondering if I added more hens if they could be in the same flock again? I knew I probably didn't have enough hens for both of them but was really hoping they'd make it through to next spring. I was pushing my luck & Odysseus paid for it. I feel really terrible. He's not going to die from the wounds, but he is special to me & that makes me a lot more emotionally invested in him & willing to do whatever I can to get him back into the flock (with the exception of killing Memnoch - that is a last resort option). I ended up with those hens because of him! Anyhow, any suggestions, tips, etc. are greatly appreciated from y'all.

Pretty sure this might have killed any urge in me to hatch again.

what worries me? All of a sudden my chickens have gone bonkers about procreating. it makes me think that we're going to have a killer of a winter. That's what worries me.

I love my roosters, and I have a very special one; if any bird even looks like they're going to hurt him, they are going to suffer. Yep, I can get hysterical about it, Know what you mean, and I know there's no hope for it. Several of my roosters gang up on a particular young pullet. I get a switch and switch them a healthy switch, repeatedly scaring them off, letting them know this is MY hen and they are not to fool around with her. As head rooster, I give my hen protection and status. I have done this with favorite pecked on roosters as well. For details on this technique, go to BeeKissed's posts on this subject. She's the inventor and master of it. God Bless and Good Luck

 

[P-Funk]

Hey Strangers! Welcome Lisa! Just had to post some pics of the last 2 days. The older non-laying hens now have their own stall and run in the barn, and the remodeled coop is occupied by 8 new fuzzballs. Mamma bird abandoned the 4 week old hatchling on the same day Big R got like 200 day olds. The month-old has taken instantly to mothering the babies, or fathering. Now I don't remember how to post pics....

 

[P-Funk]

Hey Strangers! Welcome Lisa! Since Thursday the older non-laying hens now have their own stall and run in the barn, and the remodeled coop is occupied by 8 new fuzzballs. Mamma bird abandoned the 4 week old on the same day Big R got like 200 day olds. The month-old has taken instantly to mothering the babies, or fathering. Now I don't remember how to post pics....