So, I'm in a bit of a predicament. A while back one of my chickens died. I keep all of my chickens as pets so this was very heartbreaking. I adopted two other chickens to keep my other two happy. I separated them through a wire mesh grate in the coop to keep them separated but they could also see each other and get use to one another. This has worked fine for me in the past. I had to kind of rush my plans to introduce them when another of my hens died leaving the other by herself.
However, it appears that Snow and Sunny (one of my chicks) hate each other. This is not normal pecking behavior. They are genuinely afraid of each other and are pecking to kill. This is likely because Sunny grew so fast. She's only a few months old but already larger than the average hen. I assume she's a leghorn, the store that I got her at must have mislabeled her. Sunny is sweet but she looks intimidating which is causing Snow to attack her violently every time I try to introduce them. My last chick, Happy, also must have been mislabeled because she is small enough to be a bantam and I've raised rhode island reds before and she is nowhere near as large as she should be. Also a cause for concern.
I had thought that the wire mesh would have been enough for them to get used to each other...
My problem is timing. It gets very cold around here and if I can't find a way for all three of them to get along before the snow hits they will be in very bad trouble, especially my Snow, who is already so very lonely. If anyone has any suggestions about how to make two chickens who hate each other to the death become friends that would be very nice. Otherwise, I'm in real trouble here.
However, it appears that Snow and Sunny (one of my chicks) hate each other. This is not normal pecking behavior. They are genuinely afraid of each other and are pecking to kill. This is likely because Sunny grew so fast. She's only a few months old but already larger than the average hen. I assume she's a leghorn, the store that I got her at must have mislabeled her. Sunny is sweet but she looks intimidating which is causing Snow to attack her violently every time I try to introduce them. My last chick, Happy, also must have been mislabeled because she is small enough to be a bantam and I've raised rhode island reds before and she is nowhere near as large as she should be. Also a cause for concern.
I had thought that the wire mesh would have been enough for them to get used to each other...
My problem is timing. It gets very cold around here and if I can't find a way for all three of them to get along before the snow hits they will be in very bad trouble, especially my Snow, who is already so very lonely. If anyone has any suggestions about how to make two chickens who hate each other to the death become friends that would be very nice. Otherwise, I'm in real trouble here.
