Difficult introduction to flock...

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@ Mrs. K, thanks for the comments. PG did not leave her original two flocks, she outlived 60 other birds over three years. Our neighbor's, her original owner's, new dog would attack her so she essentially "flew their coop" and moved next door with us. She had been alone since this past spring. She is a survivor.

 

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I missed your comment about the roosts, @Mrs. K . There is over 8' of space on the two roosts for 9 birds which I feel is sufficient for winter. Because we did this very quickly though I'm planning a change for summer that will entail an "L" shaped roost all on one level. Eliminates fussing over who gets the top roost for one thing.

 

[aart]

I missed your comment about the roosts, @Mrs. K . There is over 8' of space on the two roosts for 9 birds which I feel is sufficient for winter. Because we did this very quickly though I'm planning a change for summer that will entail an "L" shaped roost all on one level. Eliminates fussing over who gets the top roost for one thing.

8' for 9 birds is minimal.
Adding another place to roost now,
may would much improve the situation with PG,
it doesn't have to be pretty... just functional.
Not sure of your building skills or tools available,
but slapping together a couple of angle braces screwed to the wall,
and a 2x4 across them is pretty quick.
Or buy a couple L brackets.

You'll love the L shape, mine works great.

 

[path.otto]

@aart, I understand that more is always better but I had to draw the line somewhere and since 8" appears to be the minimal standard per chicken, I went with 10.5. There are so many opinions on space required for anything I would drive myself nuts trying to figure out what's perfect! I'm feeling crabby, but it's because this morning everyone was after PG when she came off the roost.

I might be more concerned about roost space, but PG's issues with the flock don't extend to the night time roost for some reason (well, obviously because they are asleep). When I come in the coop in the morning they're all just standing there on their roosts, nobody's pecking anybody. It's only when they are on the ground that there is a problem.

I've added pallets and stumps so far to the run and more food locations in the run and coop. I'm hitting the thrift stores looking for items for the coop that might give them more vertical space. Old chairs, benches, etc. Things I don't have just laying around.

I got the idea for the "L" roost from your photos of your coop and the horizontal waterers.

 

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Thought I would post photos of PG. She wouldn't be special to anyone else, but she gave us 2 extra large blue eggs every 3 days this summer, not bad for a 3-4 year old chicken, and I just like her.
With part of her original flock 5/2014. They were always at our house. Not great neighbors that way, but I've always liked their chickens.


The b/w photos were taken in July and Oct. Of this year respectively.

 

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It took 8 months, but Pretty Girl finally has a flock! She spent all winter in a crate in the garage with frequent opportunities to get out and act like a chicken.
She has 5 years of street savvy so this Spring I let her free range during the day and she spent most of the time at the run with the other girls. When it got so hot last week I moved the girls under trees in a fenced area. Again the first couple of days she hung around outside the fence then I put her in with them. No biggie!
When it cooled off it was a natural progression to put her in the run and she spent last night on the roost with them. So far so good! She avoids S&P, the head hen, but she is not low hen on the totem pole.
Persistence and patience paid off! (She's the one wearing white).