Such wonderful weather for this long weekend. My riding mower has been in the shop and we just got it back late in the day Friday. So I spent lots of time on it Sat. And Sun. Today I get to till my garden, yup, the tiller was also in the shop. But the girls have weathered the weather pretty well, although they have been fussing about territory. The big girls, the one year olds do not wNt to share the coop with the teens. They tolerate Mamas babies, because Mama is on top, and no one dares cross her, but the teens are very sweet birds and feel the hostility deeply. The night before last I found that they had put themselves to bed in the small coop that they used to live in until I moved the little BR girls in. The little BRs were not happy to share, and the complaints started early yesterday morning...Last night The BRs had put themselves to bed and I locked them in, the teens kept looking in, wanting to bunk with them. Stewie was chasing them away from the big coop whenever they approached. Poor things had no place they felt welcome. There is 18feet of roost in the big coop, but the three big girls had positioned themselves at both ends to make it uncomfortable for the teens to find a space. They finally agreed to spend the night in a nest box.
Is this a situation which will resolve itself in time? There are two teens who are 14 weeks, then 3 Brs who are 8 weeks, and Mamas chicks are 2 1/2 weeks. So we have a lot of inclusions to go through. Would it help to hang a curtain to block view from one end to the other? Any suggestions to help the situation at bed time would be welcomed.
On some days I take the big girls to work a separate area in the electric fence for fresh grass and bugs. I hope they find all the ticks and snails...and I bring the teens for a shorter work day, that gives the littles more freedom and less traffic on the pens grass. Also breathing room for all. Love to hear from people who have solved this kind of challenge.
