I have 9 silkies 20 wks old. 5 are hens and 4 roosters. I have mixed colors of white, blue and buff. One of my white hens recently started biting my other girls on the butt. I have never hand fed them nor do I regularly pick them up.
My run is 10 ft wide 20ft long. They also have a small free standing coop 4x4 ft. I have a gate that divides the run keeping my roosters seperated. They can see each other. I don't know what mating behavior looks like because am new chicken owner. Expecting them to start laying in next couple months. Yesterday I caught her biting and put her on the boy side but quickly put her back because they tried to attack her. I want then to free range just not set up yet even though I have a 200 ft area surrounded with netting and electric fence. I have 2 buff geese that would probably chase them occassionally and need to fence off seperate areas for silkie hens and roos. My geese have their own coop at night and free range during the day. They were so little when I put them outside I was afraid they'd go through poultry fence . What I have read is that if they start aggression its due to cramped space or boredom. I realize they establish pecking order but they have been out in the run for months all summer and fall and this just started. Thanks for any advice!
Pam
My run is 10 ft wide 20ft long. They also have a small free standing coop 4x4 ft. I have a gate that divides the run keeping my roosters seperated. They can see each other. I don't know what mating behavior looks like because am new chicken owner. Expecting them to start laying in next couple months. Yesterday I caught her biting and put her on the boy side but quickly put her back because they tried to attack her. I want then to free range just not set up yet even though I have a 200 ft area surrounded with netting and electric fence. I have 2 buff geese that would probably chase them occassionally and need to fence off seperate areas for silkie hens and roos. My geese have their own coop at night and free range during the day. They were so little when I put them outside I was afraid they'd go through poultry fence . What I have read is that if they start aggression its due to cramped space or boredom. I realize they establish pecking order but they have been out in the run for months all summer and fall and this just started. Thanks for any advice!
Pam
