Esther and Winnie~ Emerald ~ Momma Time~ UH-OH Egg Overload P46

[barg]

The space they have is more then the recomended Sq. Ft. for the number of chickens in it.
Allot of the people who have responded to this have mentioned that they let their chickens "free range"
I wonder if there is anyone out there who has done this within the confines of a Run and what their experience has been.

 

[barg]

Quote:
So do I.
I need to know if its a normal part of the process that, the older chickens gather around the chicks, who are head down in the corner, all of them bite at the chicks, pulling their feathers, while the chicks just sit there helpless.

Is this a Normal part of it?
I went out and stopped this a couple times because it looked like it was never going to stop.

 

[barg]

Esther & Winnie An end to the Madness

I don't want any of you to feel like your advice was ignored or unappreciated however,

The violence inside the run was escalating too far beyond any "pecking order" fighting.

It seemed as though the old girls were intent on driving away or killing the younger ones, and I'm of the belief that, killing, was their preferred option.

Maybe its the breed combo, maybe its the way my run is arranged, but I am taking the advice of a couple people from outside this thread and waiting until the younger ones are more mature and closer in size to the older ones.

I'm not sure if the pics show this very well, but the chicks are less then half the size of the pullets and still act like chicks.

I know many of you have been succesful with integrating chicks of different ages but, it does seem that most of you have done it in an free range situation.

Integration part 3 will begin in about 2 weeks, maybe more.

To all of you that have responded, I appreciate the time and effort you have put in to help me out.
Thanks again for all your help

 

[thndrdancr]

OH, your poor babies. Your EE is standing like my Fussy does when she is totally despondent.

 

[domromer]

I hope your luck changes. My girls are separate during the day, then at night I'll let them free range together for awhile. They usually ignore each other. Sometimes the big ones will go after the little ones, but they have so much room it's easy to escape. I think you are right to wait for the little girls to get a bit older and bigger. Maybe you can bring them together at when the chicks are 12 weeks old. I've found they hit are growth plateau around 10-12 weeks and slow down from there. Good luck.

 

[soccerguy17]

i know this sounds kind of crazy but i do it when breeding fish since the males are bigger than the females but could you make a sectioned part of the run with a tiny hole that only winnie and esther could fit through to their own little part of the run since you said the older ones are twice the size of the other ones winnie and esther could slowly spend more time on the big girls side as they get bigger than you could take out the wall here is a picture incase my rambling made no sensemy only question is if winnie and esther will be able to figure out that the big girls cant get them on there side?

 

[barg]

Thanks guys!
soccerguy17, Yes I did think of that idea and I may try something like that in a few days.
I know the younger girls are not going to go through the hole to get to the big girl area in the day, At night I think they would go through and go into the coop house.

It was obvious that they just wanted to get away from the older ones;
In the end it was pretty pethetic, with the chicks face down in the corner trying to hide their heads while the big ones pecked at them.

The plan now:
Were going to put the chicks in the chicken house at night and then seperate them in the day until they are bigger.

Were going to give them a little break before we start in on that plan due to our empending vacation, so in a week or so we will be starting over.

I spoke to a couple members in the chat room earlier and want to say thanks to them for their advice.
Colleen also called a friend that she works with, who is a bit of a chicken expert, and we got lots of advice from her too.

 

[barg]

Just a few more thoughts because I felt like typing. Kind of a post trama recap

Quote:
No luna, you call this the "child abuse" phase.

The chicks are in the brooder and are not as active as usual, the trama they have gone through has been extensive and i'm sure I should have stopped it sooner then I did.

Quote:
thanks for your sentiments and info.
Thats about what im looking at now, like 12 weeks

When I got the new chicks the older chicks were 8 weeks old.
I tried to get an idea of when they would even out in size, I had no real idea that the older ones would get so much bigger so fast.

The responces I got on the board, still left me unsure on this point so, from the begining I had planned to introduce the new ones when they were 8 weeks.
At 8 weeks I reassessed my plan, but part of the plan was to have them together before our vacation; that was not to be.

A couple pages back I showed a comparison of the chicks VS the pullets, I'll add more comparative pics as the chicks get closer in size.
Quote:
I have little doubt left about the chicks gender being pullets
but I must give some credit where credit is due. This thread was very helpful in showing me the difference between a pullet and a cockeral Wyandotte
I also know Agilityscots reads this thread, now maybe she'll post something here

Quote:
Thanks jill for your support

Quote:
I have no lighting for my birds other than moon light.
They go though cold turkey changes and do just fine.

Thanks, I'm gonna get them off the light when things settle down.
I also want to thank you because, not only are you a washingtonian, I know that you actively seek out and try to help allot of people on this board, and you've answerd allot of my posts as well, thanks.

It seems probable now that I won't try another introduction until I hear a CLUCK out of the chicks.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I'm not much help and I admit I haven't been reading this all the way through, but, I feel like I might need to make a comment.
When Jerry was alone, I just basically tossed Slifer and Obelisk in the yard with him and things were fine. He was so happy to have friends that he wouldn't have cared if they were animal, vegetable or mineral.
When Obelisk was alone after Slifer died last summer, I brought Penny home. It was dislike at first sight. Obelisk pecked the holy crap out of Penny and I had to separate them. Penny went in a cat carrier and I'd let her out when I could watch them together.
When Obelisk pecked at Penny, I'd take my finger and peck her on the head right back. If she got rougher with Penny, I'd grab her neck feathers and gently yank them like I was a roo, showing her who was boss.
It's taken a long time and it's been a long road, but even if Obelisk doesn't like Penny, she's comfortable with her, and there aren't any world wars going on.
If you take the biggest bully and hold her to the ground, like you were the roo, that would assert your dominance over the hen. After a few seconds let her up.
That might help too...
I feel so bad about Winnie and Esther...
If all else fails, you might have to take the new girls out, and reintroduce them later on. Is there one of the "big"girls that doesn't beat on them as much...maybe you can put her with them...
Good luck.

 

[silkiechicken]

Maybe in a few weeks the older girls will forget the younger ones and they can go through the re intro process again. Hopefully the older girls didn't learn that you'll take out the intruders if they kept beating on them. That would be a bad habit for them to have picked up on.

Wonder if the hens are more picky too since you don't have a roo to keep order of the girls.

Never thought it was that hard integrating. Granted though, I think it of as normal when I go out after integration night and find the new girls are bunched up with their heads wedged in any corner possible. They snap out of it after a few days and learn quickly on their own how to get away and that it is up to them to stand out of the way.

Good luck, hopefully it goes better try round.