Integration oddities or normal behavior?

[BackyardTeepee]

Well...that sort of worked. Some of the littles tried being on Gwyneths side of the roost, and she would not let them be there. She also simply ducked under the partition there, and drove them off their side as well. I blocked the underside of the partition, and that is keeping Gwyneth on her side. What drama....

It so is. I have completely been following this for the drama and what happens next. Plus the sweetness of it all. that's it! We're starting a reality show!

 

[vantain]

Ha ha...nap time with Daisy! Gwyneth is hiding in the other run.

 

[vantain]

And the chicken shelves on the wall. For some reason, some of the chicks insisted on roosting in some weird places last night.

 

[vantain]

Gwyneth was having a bad day yesterday. I noticed she was breathing heavily for some reason, but otherwise acting normal. Later in the day, I saw her just standing in a corner. Upon closer observation, I noticed she was bleeding from her nostril. I removed the peepers, and she started bleeding a lot. I cleaned her up, and the bleeding eventually stopped. But the breathing problems continued. With her freedom from the peepers, she seemed to find new energy to do things she hasn’t been able to do with the peepers on, like chase the others and peck at them...grrrrr.

This time, it isn’t as bad, so maybe she learned some manners. No one was found dead in the coop this morning, and she seems to be ok with the littles. She’s only chasing them away from where she is, or if she is at the feeder. The breathing issue has me concerned though. She still seems to be struggling. I will post this issue in the Illness thread. Probably easier it follow that there. For now, no more peepers.

 

[vantain]

Despite the breathing issues, It isn't preventing Gwyneth from resuming her aggression toward the littles. She is back to chasing them away from her, and pecking at them as much as possible. I would say it is slightly less than before. She is being so anti-social.

Additionally, Daisy is broody, and will now intervene if any of the chicks get into a scuffle with Gwyneth. She runs to stand between them, then herds them away from Gwyneth, to another part of the run.

I'm reluctant to put the pinless peepers back on her, due to the breathing issues. I did start her on some Terramycin I have, just in case there is another issue at play here. Will see how that helps, if it does at all.

No one has been injured by her aggression, from what I can tell. She does grab some feathers from the chicks when she pecks at them, but hasn't drawn any blood. If it gets worse, I will jail her. She has been laying, though I don't think she has laid an egg today. That isn't uncommon though, as she hasn't laid every day. She usually lays eggs for about 3-4 days, then a day off..then repeat. Then again...I see on my cameras that she is headed into the nest box now, so.....maybe....

....to the littles...quick everyone..Gwyneth is in the nest box...PARTY ON!

 

[vantain]

So question..when Daisy decides to not be broody anymore, and wean herself from mothering the now 7 week old chicks...could she become aggressive toward the littles, or will she be more accepting of them, due to the role she has been playing recently? I would hope she would remain on friendly terms with them, at least till they reach point-of-lay, when I expect the pecking order to rear it's ugly head anyway.

 

[aart]

So question..when Daisy decides to not be broody anymore, and wean herself from mothering the now 7 week old chicks...could she become aggressive toward the littles, or will she be more accepting of them, due to the role she has been playing recently? I would hope she would remain on friendly terms with them, at least till they reach point-of-lay, when I expect the pecking order to rear it's ugly head anyway.

So Daisy is acting full on broody by 'mothering' the chicks?
Hard to say, broodies can be rather nasty when weaning chicks by chasing them away from her. Some wean as early as ~4 weeks, some go much longer.
She may both protect them and chase them off....it can get confusing.
Only time will tell.

 

[paloozaparty]

There are two runs, side-by-side. The new run for the chicks (8x14) and the existing run (8x8) for the big girls. They have been out in their new run for a week now. The only thing separating the two runs is some plastic poultry fencing, which is open now. There are places to get away. The blind chick is really the problem. She does not know when she is near Gwyneth, and then gets pecked and doesn’t know where to run...or runs and runs into something hard.

Here are two pics. The one with the bigger hens is their original run. You can see Gwyneth in her jail cell. You can also see the new run behind that. The second pic is the new run.
View attachment 2180989View attachment 2180988

A) I love your chicken jail, and
B) I also love your very clear video monitor set up!

I'd think that there's NO issues with the mothering--as long as the chicks are okay with it? And, the angry hen is likely the lead hen? Just curious if she's the one in charge already? I think that over time she'll calm down, but I think you should go out of your way to favor her and play with her--especially separated from the other flock?

 

[vantain]

A) I love your chicken jail, and
B) I also love your very clear video monitor set up!

I'd think that there's NO issues with the mothering--as long as the chicks are okay with it? And, the angry hen is likely the lead hen? Just curious if she's the one in charge already? I think that over time she'll calm down, but I think you should go out of your way to favor her and play with her--especially separated from the other flock?

The chicks do seem to be ok with the mothering. They are 7 weeks old now. When Daisy is clucking and showing them where she finds food, they all come running to check it out. If I give Daisy a treat, she grabs it, the drops it in front of the chicks while clucking.

Gwyneth is the angry hen. And yes, I do believe she is the lead hen. It wasn’t always that way. My lead hen died a couple of months ago, and Gwyneth took her place. I did let her out of the run yesterday, and let her do a little supervised free range time. She did seem to enjoy that.

 

[vantain]

So Daisy is acting full on broody by 'mothering' the chicks?
Hard to say, broodies can be rather nasty when weaning chicks by chasing them away from her. Some wean as early as ~4 weeks, some go much longer.
She may both protect them and chase them off....it can get confusing.
Only time will tell.

Yes. She spends all day showing them food and clucking about it. She is puffed up and making herself look large, especially when Gwyneth is nearby. In the evening, she retreats to the nesting box, flattening herself like a pancake, and growling. The chicks all go to the roost. I think Daisy would like them to come into the nest box with her, but they are obviously too big. In the morning, when we open the door, she gathers them all up and hustles them to the feeder...clucking all the way.