KCGirl
Chirping
- Mar 22, 2024
- 48
- 36
- 74
First time mama of 11 girls, 6 months old, no rooster. Raised together and just moved to their big girl home about 2 weeks ago. Prior home was too small, but everyone got on the roosting bars which were the same height.
All that to say that now that they have more room, every night I watch as a few are picking at others to get off the roosting bar. While all could fit, the idea was for them to space out on two bars. Now, it's 9 on the high bar and 2 on the top of the nesting boxes. I have a hard time not intervening when they are pecking and getting others off the roost.
I told one to stop, and she would look at me defiantly and do it again. Little stinker. She may be the one taking the rooster/lead role? And I think that's why a few try to sleep under others, like they are just getting as low as possible trying not to get booted off by pecking.
Then, Victory, who was bullied off the roosting bar again, got on my arm and climbed onto my shoulder! I don't know what she was communicating to me and/ or the others. She didn't want down but after a short period of letting her, I made her get down. She's the white with black in the front on the pic. She used to be much more brash with the others and I intervened there. I think I accidentally lost her any status at all.
I also noticed some pecking others away (including the white one who looked like a little loner) and some running away, just to stay by themselves away from the group or in the run during monitored free range time.
Do I just let them all work out out themselves? Re- do the bars? (we just finished the project, hoping to be done minus a few tweaks. ) I need the 411 on chickie girl politics. Read thru several posts here, but nowhere saw 'then she climbed up on me' lol!
All that to say that now that they have more room, every night I watch as a few are picking at others to get off the roosting bar. While all could fit, the idea was for them to space out on two bars. Now, it's 9 on the high bar and 2 on the top of the nesting boxes. I have a hard time not intervening when they are pecking and getting others off the roost.
I told one to stop, and she would look at me defiantly and do it again. Little stinker. She may be the one taking the rooster/lead role? And I think that's why a few try to sleep under others, like they are just getting as low as possible trying not to get booted off by pecking.
Then, Victory, who was bullied off the roosting bar again, got on my arm and climbed onto my shoulder! I don't know what she was communicating to me and/ or the others. She didn't want down but after a short period of letting her, I made her get down. She's the white with black in the front on the pic. She used to be much more brash with the others and I intervened there. I think I accidentally lost her any status at all.
I also noticed some pecking others away (including the white one who looked like a little loner) and some running away, just to stay by themselves away from the group or in the run during monitored free range time.
Do I just let them all work out out themselves? Re- do the bars? (we just finished the project, hoping to be done minus a few tweaks. ) I need the 411 on chickie girl politics. Read thru several posts here, but nowhere saw 'then she climbed up on me' lol!
