I am sure I am not reinventing the wheel - practical advice only.

[hillcountrychickens]

What great picturs and advice.

I do not have too many options as far as housing goes...they are going to have to end up all together at some point. I think what I am going to do is, one evening, put the two largest chicks in with the "teenagers." The size is not that hugely different...I am just chicken!

I will keep the smaller, sickish one by herself until she gets bigger.

I am so amazed at how aggesive or just stupid chickens can be to each other. It makes my job so much harder and is just heartbreaking sometimes.

I would love to post a pic if someone will tell me how! What is a URL file!

 

[JaneandLizzy]

Chickens are "mean" to each other when they are enclosed in less than optimal space. Much less aggression happens with pastured flock because there is less tension, and because the lower birds can stay out of the way.

In nature, the reason that animals (and plants) have so many babies, is that most of the offspring don't survive. A bird has many more babies than are needed to replace her in her lifetime; and the prey birds, have many more than the predators.

Even so, I don't know how any chicks could survive in a flock without a very aggressive momma.

We had a chick fall out of a brooder box when the door was opened. Before we could see where it landed, three full grown chickens were pecking it towards death. We were able to return it to the brooder, after a day or so and coating it's wounds with something like Blue- Kote.

 

[JaneandLizzy]

You asked, "What do they do when a hen hatches out eggs into the flock?"

The hen doesn't hatch eggs out into the flock, but goes to an out of the way place and brings them back when they are done hatching. I'm not sure what age the chicks are when she brings them back.

edit( I mean if the chickens were to live as "nature" planned, which wouldn't work too well for them, now, since they have few defenses.)