How to keep all my Chickens Happy!!??!!

[chickenquail]

Hi all,
So i have 4 chickens because i live in town. anyway i have 2 isa browns and 2 chinese silkies and my 2 isa browns have been jumping the fences and roaming the streets so we have locked them up but now the 2 silkies are stuck in with the 2 isa browns and theyre getting bullied. but i cant let them out because they lay in the coop. ive thought about waiting for the silkies to lay then let them out but my parents and i are at school and work form 7:45 to 4:30 and the chickens lay around 10:00 so what can i do to keep all of my chickens happy?
Oh and by the way i cant put any bowls out because we have wild birds come and steal the eggs.
PLEASE HELP
ALL of my chickens are unhappy and im so sad. But theyre only going to be locked up for about 3 weeks just so that the isa browns learn theyre lesson.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Hello. I also live in the city and have had problems with bullied Silkies and escaping hens who love to visit the neighbors.

How old are your birds and how long have they been living together? I would take a good look at your coop and make sure that they all have enough space. Over-crowding can cause bullying problems to be worse. Some pecking is normal and Silkie chicken tend to get picked on in mixed groups. Sad, but true. If they are new to living together then it will take them time to work on their social lives and pecking is part of that. It should get better with time as long they have have enough space. My silkie still gets pecked from time to time but overall they have learned to get along.

Also, birds tend to be a bit more calm and kind once they have started laying so age could be a factor.

Watch for bleeding. If she gets injured and is bleeding then she needs to be separated until she is well again. I would also watch them and make sure that your silkies are able to eat. Sometimes birds will guard the food and keep other birds away. If that is the case a second feeder might be needed in the short term until they work out their issues.

My chickens have a fenced in run area but I let them out each night when I get home from work. That way they get an hour or two in the yard before they go to bed. It is enough time form them to forage and have some freedom but not enough time to go on wild neighborhood adventures. If this is not an option for you then maybe an inclosed run with a top, so the birds can not fly out, or a movable chicken tractor depending on the size of your yard, would be some good options to consider for providing more space.

 

[chickenquail]

Thank you so much.
Well my oldest silkie is 3 years old and my other silkie isnt a year old yet and she gets bullied 24/7 by all of them but their pen is attached to quite a big vegie garden but they only have access to that in winter. They arent used to being cooped up all together because they usually get the whole 1/4 of an acre block to themselves so they can easily get away from each other so they have been livng together for about 8 months with all four of them.
I love having backyard chickens. LOL RANDOM
Well the thing is i cant really put a roof over my whole entire yard and i have talked to my parents about getting higher fences but they say it isnt worth it and that it will cost too much so im completely out of ideas and i dont want my beautiful little chickens be cooped up for the rest of there lives so what can i do to prevent them from jumping the fence?????

 

[ChickensRDinos]

It depends on how high your fence is. You could try clipping their wings and see if that helps but unless the fence is pretty high they might still be able to jump over it even with clipped wings.

 

[chickenquail]

I have tryed clipping their wings but they actually jump
Thanks anyway i hope all of your chickens are well and not jumping fences

 

[PaulaSB12]

I had to change the gate I thought mine where flying over until I caught one going under the gate.