Because of a predictor kill last winter, I was left with the one hen and one rooster. White Bramma, coo coo moran cross. Good egg layers. I bought a Brinsea incubator. It really works! I had a bumper crop of new chicks. For the first time ever I had to process some for meat. Now some of the new crop is ready to integrate. That old hen and roo are so dominant. Even killing one baby. But I built a new aria adjacent to the main one, so they can get used to one another for a week or too before moving them in. The hen is old. Like 2-3 years. Egg laying has fallen off some. Maybe moving new birds in has caused her stress. The choice is to get rid of the old hen, and maybe even the roo, as there are plenty more. But the old roo is so docile and gentle to me, but not so the new ones. They dominate the feed when its put out. I hate to admit to sentimental attachment, but I have grown used to them. Has anyone had to get rid of a hen for being to dominant? If I let them roam the yard, they get over in the woods, and don't come back. Too tough to eat. I want their life to be a good one, but the goal is to have egg laying hens next spring.
