NEVER trust a momma hen!! I should have been a bit better prepared or the transition, but stupidly thinking that I've got it all under control, it's only been 3 weeks, the other girls know who the lead hen is, they know she's been gone or a bit...right?
WRONG!!
Speckle is still lead hen AND with the protectivness toward the chicks in buckets full as to the other hens who she promptly attacked once back in the tractor. Once is ok, it's re-establishing the pecking order and I thought that it had settled down,once the chicks were comfy and the other two laying hens tried to come back down from the roost, it was game on again.
I had 3 grown hens bleeding slightly on the comb and the one who thought she was in charge from the lead hen is nursing a bloody leg. All but the BO who won't let me lay a hand on her have been treated with a betadine wash. Lead hen Speckle, is healthy, no oddness or other than a slighty bloody comb, is ok.
So are the other 2 older hens, Blondie and Hannah. Beat up from the fight, but ok, no picking and they both layed today.
Food is layer feed, oyster shell, and limited treats. Nothing was out of the ordinary other than my ignorance about re introducing the mom and babies so suddenly. It went badly, so I pulled mom and chicks back out and put them back in the brooder since the aggressor was the lead hen.
All hens have been treated with a Betadayn wash and will do so again tomorrow.
Now, all that said, what is a good way to reintroduce a broody mom that is getting over that stage safely with the chicks and have her NOT be flogging the other hens?
We have one chicken tractor and one brooder. We don't have the wood or the wiring, webbing, etc to go to another source of shelter.
Is the next step to put the brooder next to the tractor and let them get used to the flock again? The only problem we have is that with the brooder is about 3 feet high and the space that the tractor area in on the ground... I don't want to have to re home anyone until the chicks can be sexed, but this has got my mind perplexed, can anyone help me think this through step by step.
(Panic, stress and fibro fog don't always help me think clearly.)
Thanks!!
WRONG!!
Speckle is still lead hen AND with the protectivness toward the chicks in buckets full as to the other hens who she promptly attacked once back in the tractor. Once is ok, it's re-establishing the pecking order and I thought that it had settled down,once the chicks were comfy and the other two laying hens tried to come back down from the roost, it was game on again.
I had 3 grown hens bleeding slightly on the comb and the one who thought she was in charge from the lead hen is nursing a bloody leg. All but the BO who won't let me lay a hand on her have been treated with a betadine wash. Lead hen Speckle, is healthy, no oddness or other than a slighty bloody comb, is ok.
So are the other 2 older hens, Blondie and Hannah. Beat up from the fight, but ok, no picking and they both layed today.
Food is layer feed, oyster shell, and limited treats. Nothing was out of the ordinary other than my ignorance about re introducing the mom and babies so suddenly. It went badly, so I pulled mom and chicks back out and put them back in the brooder since the aggressor was the lead hen.
All hens have been treated with a Betadayn wash and will do so again tomorrow.
Now, all that said, what is a good way to reintroduce a broody mom that is getting over that stage safely with the chicks and have her NOT be flogging the other hens?
We have one chicken tractor and one brooder. We don't have the wood or the wiring, webbing, etc to go to another source of shelter.
Is the next step to put the brooder next to the tractor and let them get used to the flock again? The only problem we have is that with the brooder is about 3 feet high and the space that the tractor area in on the ground... I don't want to have to re home anyone until the chicks can be sexed, but this has got my mind perplexed, can anyone help me think this through step by step.
(Panic, stress and fibro fog don't always help me think clearly.)
Thanks!!
