I lost Lucy 2 weeks ago, so Lady has been an only child--lots of attention and freedom. On Saturday, daughter got me 2 new pullets--a Red Star (really big, this one) and an Australorp (small and timid). I only have the one tractor; we were in process of building a second one, but it wasnt' finished yet. Anyway, so we put the newbies in the original tractor and planned on putting Lucy in after dark. She ran back and forth all evening, trying to get in there with them, very loud and vocal--even had the neighbors chickens talking back to her. So, husband put her in with them (it was already getting dark, but not where you'd need a light outside). She pounced on the RS several times and really had the claws going. Debbie (RS) and jewel headed up the ladder to roost, but Lady followed them up there and chased them down. Up and down, up and down, until finally they all stayed up but Lady yelled at them for a good 10 minutes. First thing in the morning, here we go again. She was all over Debbie, not Jewel so much, but then wouldn't let them down so they could eat and drink. So, we pulled Lady out and let the newbies rest. Second night, same thing. We finished the new tractor yesterday and put the newbies in it for the night--you should have seen how Lady paced wanting to get in there! We put her in the original tractor for the night and plan to leave her in most of the day. They can see each other, and Deb & Jewel can get into the run. How long should I keep Lady from them? Keep her in the tractor or let her free range? I'm thinking Deb and Jewel can get out to free range tomorrow or the next day because they tend to hide on the roost anyway and I don't think they would even come out if they could. Deb will be a flyer, she's already flown up to poles where the others use the ladder. I'll post pics of my new tractor in a day or so when I get time. It's really nice for being built out of scraps by a novice carpenter.
