Hi everyone!
I have been lurking on BYC for a couple months and finally just officially joined. I am new to raising chickens - I've always been more of a city girl, but recently bought a nice house on a beautiful 2+ acres in south Florida. My boyfriend grew up with chickens in his early childhood, and really got this whole thing started with a few well-placed suggestions. So now we are the brand new parents of a flock of 15 little chicks who are currently almost 3 weeks old.
I tried to do some research on BYC and other places before ordering our chicks. We were especially interested in friendly, quiet and heat tolerant breeds. It's not unusual for us to have 90+ degree days for 5-6 months out of the year, so we really wanted to make sure we got breeds that wouldn't suffer in the high heat and humidity. We wanted chickens for egg-laying, and don't really intend on eating them at this point. We ended up with 6 EEs, 9 Polish (3 white, 3 buff laced, & 3 golden), and 1 mystery chicken that I am certain is a salmon faverolle. One of the white Polish chicks died after the first week (so sad!!), but she had been sickly since she first arrived from the hatchery. The others all seem to be doing well.
I had hoped that by getting so many Polish that we wouldn't have as much of a problem with them being picked on, but a couple of the EEs absolutely insist on yanking out the feathers of the white Polish. They go around pulling on feathers from everyone, but they are especially forceful with the 2 white Polish, I assume because their pinkish skin beneath their white feathers are more easily visible? They don't do much with the golden Polish or the other EEs. They actually avoid the Faverolle for some reason. I had read that that breed was so docile it was prone to bullying, but the one I have just gives the EEs the old hairy eyeball and they decide against picking on him/her.
The 2 bully EEs are currently confined to their own pen for the good of the rest of the flock.I have the 2 injured white Polish coated with Rooster Booster to cover up the scabs/red areas, and this seems to protect them from the rest. They have a decent-sized brooder area while the main coop is being built, so I don't think they're overcrowded. I've tried to give them things to do include a sand box and a mirror, so I'm not sure if they're still bored or just overly aggressive.
Despite the bloody feathers and some minor drama, I just adore the chicks. I've never laughed so hard as the first time I witnessed a game of "chicken rugby" when one chick got a leaf and a game of chase ensued all around the brooder!!
Looking forward to this great learning/life experience!
I have been lurking on BYC for a couple months and finally just officially joined. I am new to raising chickens - I've always been more of a city girl, but recently bought a nice house on a beautiful 2+ acres in south Florida. My boyfriend grew up with chickens in his early childhood, and really got this whole thing started with a few well-placed suggestions. So now we are the brand new parents of a flock of 15 little chicks who are currently almost 3 weeks old.
I tried to do some research on BYC and other places before ordering our chicks. We were especially interested in friendly, quiet and heat tolerant breeds. It's not unusual for us to have 90+ degree days for 5-6 months out of the year, so we really wanted to make sure we got breeds that wouldn't suffer in the high heat and humidity. We wanted chickens for egg-laying, and don't really intend on eating them at this point. We ended up with 6 EEs, 9 Polish (3 white, 3 buff laced, & 3 golden), and 1 mystery chicken that I am certain is a salmon faverolle. One of the white Polish chicks died after the first week (so sad!!), but she had been sickly since she first arrived from the hatchery. The others all seem to be doing well.
I had hoped that by getting so many Polish that we wouldn't have as much of a problem with them being picked on, but a couple of the EEs absolutely insist on yanking out the feathers of the white Polish. They go around pulling on feathers from everyone, but they are especially forceful with the 2 white Polish, I assume because their pinkish skin beneath their white feathers are more easily visible? They don't do much with the golden Polish or the other EEs. They actually avoid the Faverolle for some reason. I had read that that breed was so docile it was prone to bullying, but the one I have just gives the EEs the old hairy eyeball and they decide against picking on him/her.
The 2 bully EEs are currently confined to their own pen for the good of the rest of the flock.I have the 2 injured white Polish coated with Rooster Booster to cover up the scabs/red areas, and this seems to protect them from the rest. They have a decent-sized brooder area while the main coop is being built, so I don't think they're overcrowded. I've tried to give them things to do include a sand box and a mirror, so I'm not sure if they're still bored or just overly aggressive.
Despite the bloody feathers and some minor drama, I just adore the chicks. I've never laughed so hard as the first time I witnessed a game of "chicken rugby" when one chick got a leaf and a game of chase ensued all around the brooder!!
Looking forward to this great learning/life experience!
and Welcome To BYC! Ya. Polish can be a challenge in a mixed flock, with chicks it seems to be more because the crests are different, and if they are at all bored something fun to do, a source of entertainment... hopefully it will stop when you get them in the coop, otherwise you may look at putting pinless peepers on the EEs eventually.
