Compie's nonconformist coopsters!

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annakaycompton

annakaycompton

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6 Years
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Jul 10, 2013
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Hi everyone! Glad to find a place to share my backyard drama! Right now my immediate problem is my two hens (I only have the two) have hatched their clutches 10 days apart. I have kept them separate and now that the chicks are 5 weeks and 31/2 weeks I have tried to let them out together in the barnyard and the hens fight like they want to kill each other. One even brought blood!!! For now they split yard time...any suggestions??
 
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If it were me, I would let them work things out. The backyard should provide plenty of room for the loser to retreat. One hen must be allowed to assert dominance or they will continue fighting.
 
Thanks for your quick response !! I figured that was how I should do it but it is hard to see "my girls" go at each other in such a violent way!!! And I am a farm girl!!! Lol. But I must admit I have obsessed over these two new families..lol
 
I agree with sourland, they have to work it out. But I'd advise supervision for a while to make sure the babies aren't getting trampled in the process.
 
If one gets bloody I would isolate it, though, until it heals up. When I introduced my polish to my older girls there was a lot of fighting but there was never any blood. They still tend to get picked on since they are smaller but they mainly just keep to their separate sides of the run (or yard when I let them out)
 
Ok.. I think I have a plan...I will keep them on separate yard time schedules until next week when the injured one, Princess (my gran niece named her*~*), is healed... Then I will let the older ones out first so they can wander off to their favorite scratching place and then let the others out. I will monitor but not hand feed ( this may have prompted the fight, too, good grief !) . Wish me luck! Thanks, all for your wise words!!
 
Welcome to BYC! I have a broody mama chicken who is a real terror when she has chicks, I just keep her separate until she is done raising chicks. She goes back to normal once the chicks are weaned. Good luck to you!
 
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If the chicks are old enough to be weaned away from mama, I would try the chicks all together in one area. And the two hens away from them. I think a lot of the fighting is because of the chicks and if they were away from mamas both broods might be happy without them.
 

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