Yesterday I decided the "babies" were big enough to join the "big kids". Let me describe the two groups. My older group was hatched March 29th. The babies were hatched May 12th. The big kids are mostly Bantams with 2 California Whites and 3 EE's. Everybody gets along just fine. The matriarch of the group is my Spot, the largest of the two California Whites. I have been weeding out the roo's as they started to crow and so I am down to 3 very pretty Porcelain's who until yesterday wouldn't hurt a fly.
Now the babies. They are barnies-mixed barred rocks, partridge rocks, RIW, and EE and I think 2 SLW. Oh and there was a tiny, tiny Mille Fleur roo. The first thing that happened is the older 3 roo's ganged up on Millie and started to stomp him. I grabbed him up. He is in the garage in a small brooder. The other babies are larger than the Porcelains but the big boys managed to herd them into a corner and pretty much keep them there all day. I would go out and move them along so they could get up but then things went back to they way they were. I placed food and water next to them. They finally let them move in the afternoon. I put the little ones in the coop at night after the others went in. All was quiet.
This morning, the big kids jump out like usual. And the roo's took up posts to keep the others in the coop! They must have let their guard down because a few of the braver ones got out but again one roo sat them in the corner. Another was guarding the house chicks and the third roosted about the crowd and kept an eye out. Spot would come along once in a while and give them a peck (both groups-outside and in the coop) and then be done with them. There is also one little white pullet that seems extra pecky toward them. No one has been hurt. One baby roo (half the size of the big girls - so he is really big) has a little pecking on his comb but that was the worst I saw. He takes his lumps and is totally submissive.
My question is how long will this go on?
Now the babies. They are barnies-mixed barred rocks, partridge rocks, RIW, and EE and I think 2 SLW. Oh and there was a tiny, tiny Mille Fleur roo. The first thing that happened is the older 3 roo's ganged up on Millie and started to stomp him. I grabbed him up. He is in the garage in a small brooder. The other babies are larger than the Porcelains but the big boys managed to herd them into a corner and pretty much keep them there all day. I would go out and move them along so they could get up but then things went back to they way they were. I placed food and water next to them. They finally let them move in the afternoon. I put the little ones in the coop at night after the others went in. All was quiet.
This morning, the big kids jump out like usual. And the roo's took up posts to keep the others in the coop! They must have let their guard down because a few of the braver ones got out but again one roo sat them in the corner. Another was guarding the house chicks and the third roosted about the crowd and kept an eye out. Spot would come along once in a while and give them a peck (both groups-outside and in the coop) and then be done with them. There is also one little white pullet that seems extra pecky toward them. No one has been hurt. One baby roo (half the size of the big girls - so he is really big) has a little pecking on his comb but that was the worst I saw. He takes his lumps and is totally submissive.
My question is how long will this go on?
