- Apr 29, 2012
- 55
- 3
- 101
Last February I was given an Easter egger that was previously being kept with a conure by a former coworker. He gave her to me because he knew I have a four-chicken flock (RIR, Buff Orpington, Jersey Giant, and Silver-laced Wyandotte) as well as some other animals. Just for fun, I included a pic from about a year ago of my backyard family—when I still had my awesome Wyandotte rooster that I sadly had to rehome, and before the egger came to live with us.
Some background info: My single turkey hen keeps EVERYONE in order with a peck every now and then, but it’s not overly aggressive or frequent thing. I also have a trio of ducks that stays in the lower part of the run. They keep the chickens away from them with some sassy quacks and head lowering but dont cause any problems and the chickens don’t try anything either.
I have a 10x10 run and a 6x5 attached and raised coop that only the chickens have access to, and a separate 2x2 attached wooden house opposite the coop. All the birds get plenty of free range time during the day within my fenced-in backyard.
At night the turkey settles into her crate, the ducks nestle into the corner, the four hens hop onto the roost in their coop and the single Easter egger, without fail, sleeps alone either on a ledge or the ladder in the coop.
I tried to acclimate her starting in March 2020. Separate and short introductions. Days outside and nights inside. Free range introductions with lots of snacks. Nothing seemed to work. The Orpington or Wyandotte would always chase the Easter egger away. The RIR and Jersey were more accepting but would sometimes follow the example of the Orpington (the worst offender).
I’ve thought of temporarily separating the Wyandotte and Orpington so that the Easter egger has a chance to flock up with the RIR and Jersey, but don’t want to create more problems if this doesn’t work.
I feel like I really stepped in in and would love to get some advice. I feel guilty over taking the chicken into a bullying situation but I feel like rehoming her elsewhere might traumatize her more.
So sorry for the long post, thank you so much for any and all help!
Some background info: My single turkey hen keeps EVERYONE in order with a peck every now and then, but it’s not overly aggressive or frequent thing. I also have a trio of ducks that stays in the lower part of the run. They keep the chickens away from them with some sassy quacks and head lowering but dont cause any problems and the chickens don’t try anything either.
I have a 10x10 run and a 6x5 attached and raised coop that only the chickens have access to, and a separate 2x2 attached wooden house opposite the coop. All the birds get plenty of free range time during the day within my fenced-in backyard.
At night the turkey settles into her crate, the ducks nestle into the corner, the four hens hop onto the roost in their coop and the single Easter egger, without fail, sleeps alone either on a ledge or the ladder in the coop.
I tried to acclimate her starting in March 2020. Separate and short introductions. Days outside and nights inside. Free range introductions with lots of snacks. Nothing seemed to work. The Orpington or Wyandotte would always chase the Easter egger away. The RIR and Jersey were more accepting but would sometimes follow the example of the Orpington (the worst offender).
I’ve thought of temporarily separating the Wyandotte and Orpington so that the Easter egger has a chance to flock up with the RIR and Jersey, but don’t want to create more problems if this doesn’t work.
I feel like I really stepped in in and would love to get some advice. I feel guilty over taking the chicken into a bullying situation but I feel like rehoming her elsewhere might traumatize her more.
So sorry for the long post, thank you so much for any and all help!
