Posting this to share my experience so others can learn - what to do and what not to do.
I may exceed the character limit with this post, if there is one. So, grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair.
Our new pullets shipped on 2/25. The last order took four days of travel to arrive (ugh) so we were expecting the same.
2/26 - I just let the girls out to forage and had to search for my phone in the yard. Upon retrieval I discovered a missed call from the post office 90 minutes prior that the birds were in. WHAT!!???
It was a hot day of 84 so I took my chances and prayed the bigs would be alive and ok by the time I got back vs. putting them back in the run. We've had much vulture and hawk activity lately so I was worried but drew comfort in all the shrubbery and things they could take cover under. I bolted for the post office. It was 2:00 PM, our evening would be short.
Current tiny flock of two: aka the bigs
Golden Comet, age 13 months, non-productive
Buff Orpington, age 11 months, consistently laying
Newbies:
2 Buff Orpingtons
1 Cinnamon Queen
I preface this crash method by saying I was ill-prepared for such a timely delivery. Our old dog is sickly and probably not long for this world so I was not going to take his crate away from him as he uses it most of the time. It is extra large and is perfect for the see no touch method. That said, I knew I needed to get the newbies out of the box given the hot day, their travel with jet engines, manhandling from plane to truck and traffic. Oh my. I didn't have time to dismantle the garage to find the emergency crate, lug it outside (super heavy) and set it up - always takes me over an hour and I was sick to boot. Picked up a bug from somewhere and was feeling lousy, had a monster headache and not to mention feeling ill prepared. That said, I decided on the crash method to take the risk with biosecurity measures and hope for the best.
The bigs were on the other side of the yard out of sight of the run. I released the newbies one at a time in the run and to give them time to eat, drink and have some time to freak out in their new surroundings. I inspected them, eyes clear, nares clean, vents all looked good and poops all healthy. They were a little shell shocked but who wouldn't be. They recovered quickly and darted about like healthy birds.
The commotion attracted the bigs. They ran / flew from 30 yards away and put up a commotion to get back in the run. I forced them to stay out a little longer. I decided before roost time I needed to let the dogs out to introduce the shock noise (barking) factor to the newbies. I let the bigs back in the run and the dogs out. CHAOS.
I was in the run with everyone from 2:30 until 7:00 PM. I sat and observed and intervened only as necessary.
Goldie the Comet stepped right up into her lead role and showed everyone who is in charge here. Opal the BO hung back and didn't have much to say and didn't expend much energy into pecking unless someone got too close. I could see Goldie had it in for the C. Queen and started giving chase on several occasions. I intervened to stop her each time. Her pecks on all of them were direct to the face and hard - she meant business. Opal's pecks were a little less violent. There was never any blood drawn from anyone.
Roost time was a fiasco, as expected. The BO is always last in and was waiting on everyone else to go in but the littles had no clue. I picked each one up and placed them in the coop. Each protested. Goldie the Comet was in first and stood in the doorway, not letting anyone in, pecking them as they entered. I pushed her away each time she did that. After all were in, the door was quickly closed (having to use the manual door vs. auto door for obvious reasons). It sounded like a wrestling match was going on, lots of chirping from the newbies and vocals from the bigs, a few thugs and bumps. Oh dear. It took about 10 minutes before it all settled down to sudden and complete silence. I thought, well, they're all either dead or everyone is fast asleep. It was now full on dark.
2/27 - first full day. The bigs were horrifically vocal all day. I mean, literally, all day. The littles never came out so I forced them out of the coop so I could clean it. They remained in the coop all day - safe space. I forced them out and closed the door every couple of hours so they could eat and drink. We have two stations set up in the small run and the large run. After some time, I re-opened the door and back in they went. Repeat. I allowed them to use the coop for the first two days to feel safe. Both bigs were squawking all day! Sound travels far and wide with everything so flat and I know they could be heard a half a mile away. The BO was super loud and super angry. She sounded exactly like she was - a chicken in extreme distress; like she was being brutalized. I feared the people 30 feet behind us that sit and watch all goings on would call and complain about the noise factor. If that were to occur, the county confiscates your chickens and makes you tear down your coop. All someone has to do is complain. I was also getting distressed due to Opal's emotional state. I tried to calm her to no avail. She vocally protested from 6:30 AM to 7:00 PM - very nerve wracking indeed. It was a 13 hour day for me in the run with them, observing, touching, separating, cleaning poo, talking to them, dogs barking, street noise, construction noise, etc. I went to bed exhausted but did not sleep.
2/28 - forced the littles out of the coop again, closed the door. Made them stay out to work on integration issues. They are forming their own hierarchy. One of the new and larger BOs, - maybe older by a couple of weeks, is establishing herself as the boss of the 3 of them. The other small BO and CQ dart and run from her. All three run from the bigs. Less vocalizations (thank GOD) and tensions not as high. I again spent all day with them. Less vocals and all more active out and about in the run. The littles mastered running up and down the ramp all day and flying up to the veranda. It was another long day. I walked away for brief periods to wean them from my presence.
3/1 - A better day today. Bigs have calmed down and the boss of 3 is trying to hang with the bigs. They are more accepting of her and there is a lot less pecking. Just minor corrections if someone gets in their space or too close while eating. The other two littles are darting all over trying to stay out of everyone's way. The coop door remained closed all day to force them together. There are many objects in the run for them to jump up on, fly over, run under and hide behind. They are using all of them. It's actually fun to watch them navigate like pros. I stuck to the bigs' schedule and released them to forage as usual. This gives the littles their own free time as well. My time was divided between observing the littles in the run and watching the sky for the bigs; we had a flock of about 35 vultures fly over with one that was exceptionally curious and circled overhead about 20 feet above. I increased my time away but listened with eagle ears having the house windows opened.
3/2 - Good grief, I woke up late and it was light by the time I got out to open the door, install food and water. Only by about 20 minutes but it made the difference. Opal the big BO let me know I was behind schedule. She came out very vocal and remained that way until I was done with my chores. A cold morning of 41 degrees and very windy. The bigs were cold, all fluffed up. Heck, I was cold!! I kept the coop door open so the littles could go in for safety, warmth and to get out of the wind if they chose. They were in there all morning. By afternoon and warmer temps, I forced them out and closed the door. Much progress on acceptance and tolerance. All pecking seems to have abated, no tussles and the boss of 3 was allowed to eat from the same mash bowl with the bigs. Now I feel real progress is being made. All are healthy. Roost time is getting better. When the littles see the light go on they head for the coop and have learned to go in first ahead of the bigs to get their spot and not be pecked by Goldie at the door. Chickens really are smart and learn quickly.
3/3 - A state of Nirvana is reached. No pecking, no vocals, no intolerance shown by anyone. I spent much time in the run just to ensure all were healthy. No sneezes, coughing, diarrhea, etc. Dogs each flanked a side of the run and we all enjoyed some symbiotic moments. Each bird found a space to lie in rest, total calm and tranquility. I took pictures to prove it to my husband; included below.
3/4 - today - peace ensues. All are foraging in the run together, lying and huddled together as a group, eating and drinking together if they choose. Pecking has stopped. All is quiet. Momma is happy and TIRED.
* The BO has continued to lay eggs this past week which has amazed me.
* Goldie actually started squatting again this week for the first time in months since her brink with death. I hope the stress of this doesn't send her into reproductive hell again off the cliff. Perhaps by some miracle she will lay an egg but I am not hopeful.
* The bigs were gorging themselves on all the feed stations I guess to prevent the littles from eating. They never reached the bottom or empty status so that problem has taken care of itself over the days but they have gained weight and crops are always full. I'm monitoring and providing no extra treats or snacks.
* I immediately provided electrolytes, vitamins and amino acids for the first couple of days to help with stress.
* It's another hot day at 80 - monitoring health and stress levels today. This see-saw weather is annoying.
In summary - I don't recommend the crash method at all but I had to take mitigating circumstances into account. It has been a long grueling week but we have accomplished much. This has been the most challenging of the five integrations we've done thus far and the most time invested I've spent with the chickens. I've enjoyed every minute of it.
How old do you think these guys are? We were told between 15-20 weeks. They look younger than that to me but I really have no idea what I'm doing so there it is......
I may exceed the character limit with this post, if there is one. So, grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair.
Our new pullets shipped on 2/25. The last order took four days of travel to arrive (ugh) so we were expecting the same.
2/26 - I just let the girls out to forage and had to search for my phone in the yard. Upon retrieval I discovered a missed call from the post office 90 minutes prior that the birds were in. WHAT!!???
It was a hot day of 84 so I took my chances and prayed the bigs would be alive and ok by the time I got back vs. putting them back in the run. We've had much vulture and hawk activity lately so I was worried but drew comfort in all the shrubbery and things they could take cover under. I bolted for the post office. It was 2:00 PM, our evening would be short.
Current tiny flock of two: aka the bigs
Golden Comet, age 13 months, non-productive
Buff Orpington, age 11 months, consistently laying
Newbies:
2 Buff Orpingtons
1 Cinnamon Queen
I preface this crash method by saying I was ill-prepared for such a timely delivery. Our old dog is sickly and probably not long for this world so I was not going to take his crate away from him as he uses it most of the time. It is extra large and is perfect for the see no touch method. That said, I knew I needed to get the newbies out of the box given the hot day, their travel with jet engines, manhandling from plane to truck and traffic. Oh my. I didn't have time to dismantle the garage to find the emergency crate, lug it outside (super heavy) and set it up - always takes me over an hour and I was sick to boot. Picked up a bug from somewhere and was feeling lousy, had a monster headache and not to mention feeling ill prepared. That said, I decided on the crash method to take the risk with biosecurity measures and hope for the best.
The bigs were on the other side of the yard out of sight of the run. I released the newbies one at a time in the run and to give them time to eat, drink and have some time to freak out in their new surroundings. I inspected them, eyes clear, nares clean, vents all looked good and poops all healthy. They were a little shell shocked but who wouldn't be. They recovered quickly and darted about like healthy birds.
The commotion attracted the bigs. They ran / flew from 30 yards away and put up a commotion to get back in the run. I forced them to stay out a little longer. I decided before roost time I needed to let the dogs out to introduce the shock noise (barking) factor to the newbies. I let the bigs back in the run and the dogs out. CHAOS.
I was in the run with everyone from 2:30 until 7:00 PM. I sat and observed and intervened only as necessary.
Goldie the Comet stepped right up into her lead role and showed everyone who is in charge here. Opal the BO hung back and didn't have much to say and didn't expend much energy into pecking unless someone got too close. I could see Goldie had it in for the C. Queen and started giving chase on several occasions. I intervened to stop her each time. Her pecks on all of them were direct to the face and hard - she meant business. Opal's pecks were a little less violent. There was never any blood drawn from anyone.
Roost time was a fiasco, as expected. The BO is always last in and was waiting on everyone else to go in but the littles had no clue. I picked each one up and placed them in the coop. Each protested. Goldie the Comet was in first and stood in the doorway, not letting anyone in, pecking them as they entered. I pushed her away each time she did that. After all were in, the door was quickly closed (having to use the manual door vs. auto door for obvious reasons). It sounded like a wrestling match was going on, lots of chirping from the newbies and vocals from the bigs, a few thugs and bumps. Oh dear. It took about 10 minutes before it all settled down to sudden and complete silence. I thought, well, they're all either dead or everyone is fast asleep. It was now full on dark.
2/27 - first full day. The bigs were horrifically vocal all day. I mean, literally, all day. The littles never came out so I forced them out of the coop so I could clean it. They remained in the coop all day - safe space. I forced them out and closed the door every couple of hours so they could eat and drink. We have two stations set up in the small run and the large run. After some time, I re-opened the door and back in they went. Repeat. I allowed them to use the coop for the first two days to feel safe. Both bigs were squawking all day! Sound travels far and wide with everything so flat and I know they could be heard a half a mile away. The BO was super loud and super angry. She sounded exactly like she was - a chicken in extreme distress; like she was being brutalized. I feared the people 30 feet behind us that sit and watch all goings on would call and complain about the noise factor. If that were to occur, the county confiscates your chickens and makes you tear down your coop. All someone has to do is complain. I was also getting distressed due to Opal's emotional state. I tried to calm her to no avail. She vocally protested from 6:30 AM to 7:00 PM - very nerve wracking indeed. It was a 13 hour day for me in the run with them, observing, touching, separating, cleaning poo, talking to them, dogs barking, street noise, construction noise, etc. I went to bed exhausted but did not sleep.
2/28 - forced the littles out of the coop again, closed the door. Made them stay out to work on integration issues. They are forming their own hierarchy. One of the new and larger BOs, - maybe older by a couple of weeks, is establishing herself as the boss of the 3 of them. The other small BO and CQ dart and run from her. All three run from the bigs. Less vocalizations (thank GOD) and tensions not as high. I again spent all day with them. Less vocals and all more active out and about in the run. The littles mastered running up and down the ramp all day and flying up to the veranda. It was another long day. I walked away for brief periods to wean them from my presence.
3/1 - A better day today. Bigs have calmed down and the boss of 3 is trying to hang with the bigs. They are more accepting of her and there is a lot less pecking. Just minor corrections if someone gets in their space or too close while eating. The other two littles are darting all over trying to stay out of everyone's way. The coop door remained closed all day to force them together. There are many objects in the run for them to jump up on, fly over, run under and hide behind. They are using all of them. It's actually fun to watch them navigate like pros. I stuck to the bigs' schedule and released them to forage as usual. This gives the littles their own free time as well. My time was divided between observing the littles in the run and watching the sky for the bigs; we had a flock of about 35 vultures fly over with one that was exceptionally curious and circled overhead about 20 feet above. I increased my time away but listened with eagle ears having the house windows opened.
3/2 - Good grief, I woke up late and it was light by the time I got out to open the door, install food and water. Only by about 20 minutes but it made the difference. Opal the big BO let me know I was behind schedule. She came out very vocal and remained that way until I was done with my chores. A cold morning of 41 degrees and very windy. The bigs were cold, all fluffed up. Heck, I was cold!! I kept the coop door open so the littles could go in for safety, warmth and to get out of the wind if they chose. They were in there all morning. By afternoon and warmer temps, I forced them out and closed the door. Much progress on acceptance and tolerance. All pecking seems to have abated, no tussles and the boss of 3 was allowed to eat from the same mash bowl with the bigs. Now I feel real progress is being made. All are healthy. Roost time is getting better. When the littles see the light go on they head for the coop and have learned to go in first ahead of the bigs to get their spot and not be pecked by Goldie at the door. Chickens really are smart and learn quickly.
3/3 - A state of Nirvana is reached. No pecking, no vocals, no intolerance shown by anyone. I spent much time in the run just to ensure all were healthy. No sneezes, coughing, diarrhea, etc. Dogs each flanked a side of the run and we all enjoyed some symbiotic moments. Each bird found a space to lie in rest, total calm and tranquility. I took pictures to prove it to my husband; included below.
3/4 - today - peace ensues. All are foraging in the run together, lying and huddled together as a group, eating and drinking together if they choose. Pecking has stopped. All is quiet. Momma is happy and TIRED.
* The BO has continued to lay eggs this past week which has amazed me.
* Goldie actually started squatting again this week for the first time in months since her brink with death. I hope the stress of this doesn't send her into reproductive hell again off the cliff. Perhaps by some miracle she will lay an egg but I am not hopeful.
* The bigs were gorging themselves on all the feed stations I guess to prevent the littles from eating. They never reached the bottom or empty status so that problem has taken care of itself over the days but they have gained weight and crops are always full. I'm monitoring and providing no extra treats or snacks.
* I immediately provided electrolytes, vitamins and amino acids for the first couple of days to help with stress.
* It's another hot day at 80 - monitoring health and stress levels today. This see-saw weather is annoying.
In summary - I don't recommend the crash method at all but I had to take mitigating circumstances into account. It has been a long grueling week but we have accomplished much. This has been the most challenging of the five integrations we've done thus far and the most time invested I've spent with the chickens. I've enjoyed every minute of it.
How old do you think these guys are? We were told between 15-20 weeks. They look younger than that to me but I really have no idea what I'm doing so there it is......
I think that would have been a nightmare - this was and still is difficult enough.
