moved to the coop. a dream come true

[bj taylor]

this is week 3 for my chicks. never had chickens before. all has been virtually perfect until yesterday. suddenly (between 1p.m. & 4 p.m.) chicks had bloody rumps & verbal tones had changed. i pulled the hurt ones out & they spent the night in separate brooder. come morning, i put them back in with others (worried the 'flock' dynamic would change. they were instantly preyed on. i moved any one who picked on anyone into the smaller brooder. the others were quiet, content. the bullies were restless & anxious. i had decided it was time to move them to the coop (much expanded space). i moved the hurt ones first giving them the high ground that they were there first. then i brought in the trouble makers. it's been two hours - perfect harmony. oh, i forgot to say i painted the rumps of the hurt ones w/blue kote.
there's room for eveyone's agenda. i still think i may have a problem w/ a wyandotte who seems to go out of her way to pick on anyone.
the ones picked on were buff orpingtons
the ones who did the picking were...all of the wyandottes, none of the buff orps, a couple of the black australorps, and one of the barred rocks.
interestingly, one that didn't seem to engage in this brutal battle was a black australorp that i'm pretty sure is a rooster in the making. he seems to be a live & let live kind of guy. i thought i would keep a buff orp rooster, but he was one of the ones picked on. so i'm leaning toward the black aust.
we'll see.
since i was a little girl i have dreamed of having chickens (i'm 57 now). when i put them in the coop, it felt like everything fell in place. i know i will lose some, etc. but the moment has been sweet.

 

[chicmom]

Hi BJ! I've had that happen too. My first winter with chickens, I had to get rid of two New Hampshire reds that were very agressive. They pecked the backs on every bird in my flock!

Glad you're enjoying your chickens and have solved your problem with the pecking,

Sharon

 

[BuffMomma]

i have a white leghorn that is real aggressive she will probably be finding a new home soon if doesn't calm down but she is one of my best layers I have read that leghorns are not broody but she seems to be

 

[cooped up]

Isn't that interesting. I have read here on BYC and have experienced with my own flock that the buff orpingtons get picked on.When my 5 new chicks get introduced to the rest i hope things go well. My Plymouth Rocks are now called Stew, and will be as soon as the chicks start producing.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Are you using a white light, by chance? In my experience, a red light is more subdued and helps calm them down. The bad behaviors seem to be aggravated under a white light. A red bulb, heat lamp style or regular red glassed, normal bulb, also hides the injuries better. I am assuming you have lots of space? Room for the chicks to get away from each other?

 

[bj taylor]

i was in fact using a white light during the day. the room was so dim i thought they needed it for ambient lighting. i would turn it off @ night.
now that they are in the coop, i will use only the red light for any heat they might need & keep the white light out of there.
i am wondering if the color of the buffs were what prompted them to be targeted in the first place. they certainly had no appearance of being smaller or anything else i could determine that made them the targets. i'm not a fan of the wyandottes at this stage of the game. i guess it's a matter of 'if you can't be beautiful, be mean'. i'm sure they will be lovely when grown, but to date, they are definately the 'ugly ducklings'.