Phlimm
Chirping
Sorry for all the questions I am about to pose...hopefully I can get this stuff right!
I have just gotten 3 hens, about a year old. One white, one black, one brown (which makes this story much easier to tell
). No idea what breed (how do I tell?). They all live underneath a fort that was built in my backyard by the last homeowner. Their coop is 8'x8'x6' with a near vertical ladder made of 2x4 boards that climbs up into the fort, but the door at the top is closed for now. Other than that, the coop is open all the way around except for a piece of tarp on one side to give them shade from the early morning sun. There is a large plastic bin on its side in the middle with grass clippings inside for a nesting area, and all the eggs appear there when they show up. Food and water are placed in opposite corners in small containers for all day access with treats distributed in the late afternoon.
When I got them, the owner said that he free ranges 100% of the time but that he had cooped them in order to sell the extras. He has a very large yard, but there were at least 10-12 chickens in a coop that was no more than 5'x5'x6'.
Anyways, we got the girls home and there was one egg when we took them out of the box. The next day, nothing. Then 2,1,1,0, and finally 1 today. I am nearly certain the brown is doing most of the laying with white maybe once on the 3rd day. AFAIK, black has done nothing in the egg department.
Black is definitely the Alpha Mamma. Anytime treats are dropped in, there is a flurry of activity, and she is ALWAYS on the prowl making sure the others do not get at her area of food...which changes based on whether or not she thinks the others' treats are better! She will chase them around pecking and squealing and they know she is boss, running away when she approaches and sneaking bits here and there.
So tonight I was outside when bedtime came around. Black jumped up the ladder to the top rung, followed by white. Then brown came in but was having trouble getting all the way up. She was on the second to top pacing back and forth looking for an opening to jump to. All the while, black was pecking at her head and face relentlessly. This went on for a couple of minutes when suddenly white pushed black all the way over to one side opening up a lot of space on her side. Then brown jumped up so it was brown, white and then black across the top rung. Still, black was pecking away over the top of white going after brown's face and head.
Is this normal? Should I be concerned? Is there anything I should or can do about it? I do not really have any other place to coop them other than where they are now so separating them would not be an easy task by any means.
Also in regard to the coop. On the rare occasions it does rain here in Phoenix, it comes down pretty hard with some high winds. It rained the other night but was not by any means the worst I have seen it. The ladies didn't care a bit. They just wandered around as though nothing were happening. But as I said I know it can get a lot worse...and if it does, should I open the top door to the fort so they can seek shelter? Would they figure that out if I did?
As far as eggs go, as I said, brown is the real producer so far. Do I need to introduce a nesting area for each hen? There is space in the bin for two, maybe all three if they squeeze in tight.
And this week it has started to get over 100°. I have several gallon jugs of water freezing right now for tomorrow. I was going to place them in the coop to make some cooler spots. I was thinking a new "air conditioned" bin but was not sure if that would cause more consternation than it would be worth. Should I just put it in the nesting bin? I am not sure if all of them could fit in one bin with the jug as well. Should I just space the jugs out evenly in the coop? I have 5 of them all together.
Again sorry for all the questions. I'm just a n00b when it comes to BYC.
I have just gotten 3 hens, about a year old. One white, one black, one brown (which makes this story much easier to tell
When I got them, the owner said that he free ranges 100% of the time but that he had cooped them in order to sell the extras. He has a very large yard, but there were at least 10-12 chickens in a coop that was no more than 5'x5'x6'.
Anyways, we got the girls home and there was one egg when we took them out of the box. The next day, nothing. Then 2,1,1,0, and finally 1 today. I am nearly certain the brown is doing most of the laying with white maybe once on the 3rd day. AFAIK, black has done nothing in the egg department.
Black is definitely the Alpha Mamma. Anytime treats are dropped in, there is a flurry of activity, and she is ALWAYS on the prowl making sure the others do not get at her area of food...which changes based on whether or not she thinks the others' treats are better! She will chase them around pecking and squealing and they know she is boss, running away when she approaches and sneaking bits here and there.
So tonight I was outside when bedtime came around. Black jumped up the ladder to the top rung, followed by white. Then brown came in but was having trouble getting all the way up. She was on the second to top pacing back and forth looking for an opening to jump to. All the while, black was pecking at her head and face relentlessly. This went on for a couple of minutes when suddenly white pushed black all the way over to one side opening up a lot of space on her side. Then brown jumped up so it was brown, white and then black across the top rung. Still, black was pecking away over the top of white going after brown's face and head.
Is this normal? Should I be concerned? Is there anything I should or can do about it? I do not really have any other place to coop them other than where they are now so separating them would not be an easy task by any means.
Also in regard to the coop. On the rare occasions it does rain here in Phoenix, it comes down pretty hard with some high winds. It rained the other night but was not by any means the worst I have seen it. The ladies didn't care a bit. They just wandered around as though nothing were happening. But as I said I know it can get a lot worse...and if it does, should I open the top door to the fort so they can seek shelter? Would they figure that out if I did?
As far as eggs go, as I said, brown is the real producer so far. Do I need to introduce a nesting area for each hen? There is space in the bin for two, maybe all three if they squeeze in tight.
And this week it has started to get over 100°. I have several gallon jugs of water freezing right now for tomorrow. I was going to place them in the coop to make some cooler spots. I was thinking a new "air conditioned" bin but was not sure if that would cause more consternation than it would be worth. Should I just put it in the nesting bin? I am not sure if all of them could fit in one bin with the jug as well. Should I just space the jugs out evenly in the coop? I have 5 of them all together.
Again sorry for all the questions. I'm just a n00b when it comes to BYC.
