My light brahma girls are now 11 weeks old. They are a nice size, growing beautifully and I have 4 extremely dominant pain in my butt hens. I call them "The Girls".
I also have 6 week old's that Rodney has named "The Baby Poo's": (3) BO (4) BR. They have been out in the coop for 2 weeks now. We have them in a secion of their own where "The girls" can not get to them. They are inside with The Girls at night and are brought out with their portable house during the day.
I went to a chicken "class" at the local feed & seed store. I asked how can I introduce the babies to The Girls. I was told to take a week & let The Girls see The Baby Poo's. Then open the gates and let the chips fall where they may. SOOOO ... this well respected chicken breeder here in Florida must have never worked with my kind of Girls before because I could not handle all the pecking The Baby Poo's were getting. I immediantly put them back into their pen. For the next week I tried a different approach 3 to 5 times per day. I allowed The Baby Poo's the option of coming & going through a crack that only they could get through. If they were getting pecked on, they could go back into their pen. But it wasn't that easy. Those 4 dominant hens are out to kill The Baby Poo's.
My next approach was to add a window so The Girls could see the Baby Poo's all day through some chicken wire. The Babies are accepted by 15 of the other chickens EXCEPT those 4 dominant hens. They are brutal to those babies. I don't give it time, I get them to safety fast due to the screaming noise. They are now tramatized & hover in the corner even if one of the good "mama's" come around.
How long does it take to introduce without The Baby Poo's nearly dying? Is it time for me to remove the dominant hens?
I also have 6 week old's that Rodney has named "The Baby Poo's": (3) BO (4) BR. They have been out in the coop for 2 weeks now. We have them in a secion of their own where "The girls" can not get to them. They are inside with The Girls at night and are brought out with their portable house during the day.
I went to a chicken "class" at the local feed & seed store. I asked how can I introduce the babies to The Girls. I was told to take a week & let The Girls see The Baby Poo's. Then open the gates and let the chips fall where they may. SOOOO ... this well respected chicken breeder here in Florida must have never worked with my kind of Girls before because I could not handle all the pecking The Baby Poo's were getting. I immediantly put them back into their pen. For the next week I tried a different approach 3 to 5 times per day. I allowed The Baby Poo's the option of coming & going through a crack that only they could get through. If they were getting pecked on, they could go back into their pen. But it wasn't that easy. Those 4 dominant hens are out to kill The Baby Poo's.
My next approach was to add a window so The Girls could see the Baby Poo's all day through some chicken wire. The Babies are accepted by 15 of the other chickens EXCEPT those 4 dominant hens. They are brutal to those babies. I don't give it time, I get them to safety fast due to the screaming noise. They are now tramatized & hover in the corner even if one of the good "mama's" come around.
How long does it take to introduce without The Baby Poo's nearly dying? Is it time for me to remove the dominant hens?
