Witnessed something new and interesting today and I can't say that it didn't bother me...
Our first born and biggest chicken, the one that is a joy to hold, pet and pretty much acts like a faithful dog to us might have been replaced overnight as the Alpha Roo of the flock. There is a very aggressive, only slightly smaller (we think) roo that has displayed dominance over "Big Sal".
This morning, while sipping my coffee and enjoying "Chicken TV", I witnessed Sal back down several times and even run away from this budding bully of the coop. Now we've had it in our minds that the current bunch of 14 chickens will be culled down to 4-6 in the very near future out of necessity and space constraints. Those that are maturing are slowly revealing themselves as pullets / cockerels. I hoped to keep Sal as long as he doesn't get too noisy, so this new development isn't too much of an issue, but for the next month (I'm thinking) he'll have to deal with being lower on the totem pole of authority. Poor guy, it was tough to watch!
Secondly, last night was the first time that I decided to see if the chickens would put themselves away into the coop. They've been out of the brooder and in the coop for a little over a week now and every night I had to scoop them up and put them away. This time, I purposely left them to fend for themselves within the protection of the caged lower run. When the wife and I returned home from running an errand they had all made their way to the safety of the coop and it was very quiet. Sweet! No more chasing chickens and forcing them to bed!
Do your chickens make a ton of peeping and racket around dusk? Our's sure do!
Our first born and biggest chicken, the one that is a joy to hold, pet and pretty much acts like a faithful dog to us might have been replaced overnight as the Alpha Roo of the flock. There is a very aggressive, only slightly smaller (we think) roo that has displayed dominance over "Big Sal".
This morning, while sipping my coffee and enjoying "Chicken TV", I witnessed Sal back down several times and even run away from this budding bully of the coop. Now we've had it in our minds that the current bunch of 14 chickens will be culled down to 4-6 in the very near future out of necessity and space constraints. Those that are maturing are slowly revealing themselves as pullets / cockerels. I hoped to keep Sal as long as he doesn't get too noisy, so this new development isn't too much of an issue, but for the next month (I'm thinking) he'll have to deal with being lower on the totem pole of authority. Poor guy, it was tough to watch!
Secondly, last night was the first time that I decided to see if the chickens would put themselves away into the coop. They've been out of the brooder and in the coop for a little over a week now and every night I had to scoop them up and put them away. This time, I purposely left them to fend for themselves within the protection of the caged lower run. When the wife and I returned home from running an errand they had all made their way to the safety of the coop and it was very quiet. Sweet! No more chasing chickens and forcing them to bed!
Do your chickens make a ton of peeping and racket around dusk? Our's sure do!
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