One bird is a jerk

[birdogron]

Well, I finally finished building the coop and added a run to it. Used a kit from "Hay Needle" I think is the name that says it can handle four birds. I decided two birds is gonna do it. Small back yard. Well two days ago I finally picked up two hens. Finally. Funny how exciting it is considering I have raised pheasants and quail in the hundreds. The larger hen was pecking and chasing the smaller one and actually held the small one down and it appeared was trying to kill it by pecking intensely. The smaller bird wouldn't come out of the box and the bully was making sure of that. So deciding that chickens are cheap enough to replace, and feeling bad for the smaller bird. I made a nice dinner out of the larger one. I was rewarded that night with my first ever egg!! With all that, before I replace the jerk, I am hoping for some advice on how to avoid this from happening again. Maybe in the way they are introduced or whatever. Hey, any help is welcome. And thank you in advance.

Ron

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Welcome to BYC!

I hope that you are able to introduce a new hen that is less aggressive.

 

[mightymidnight1]

Hey Ron, my advice is to get the chicks when there young and love on them a lot . Make sure when you get chicks you raise them together.

 

[N F C]

When you get a new chicken, isolate it for about 30 days to be sure it is healthy and won't spread any kind of illness or pest to your existing chicken. Then set things up with temporary fencing so they can see each other but not touch. Let them get acquainted for a couple of weeks before you try putting them together. Some pecking is normal, but not to the point of blood being drawn.

I've integrated larger numbers of chickens and this has worked well for me. I have heard that it may tougher to integrate with a very small number.

Good luck, I hope it goes well!

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. Unfortunately that happens. Good luck with your problem bird.

 

[FlyWheel]

I had an Australorp like that. He was always rough with the hens, leaving them with missing feathers, even challenging them and a few times I would even see spots of blood on them. Well when one of the chickens I got last spring grew up to be another Roo he went totally ballistic, fighting him at every chance. One day I heard this loud commotion and when I got down to the coop he was tearing into the younger Roo and one of my hens was hopping away on one foot and it looked as if her entire right side had been ripped open! Fortunately her wounds were all superficial, she's fine now, walking on both feet and her side is almost back to normal looking.

But that was it for the cock. I put him in the cage I normally use for introducing new birds into the flock and went looking for a place to get him dressed for the dinner table. I don't know how to do this (I raise layers, not broilers) nor did I really want to learn, and the rest of the household was not keen on the idea of slaughtering him on the property either. Well after two weeks of futile searching in a state which must be 80% hunter I couldn't find anyone who would process this bird (!) I wasn't about to re-home him, why give someone else my headache? So I found a nice wooded area with a creek and chose exile instead.

The remaining rooster is flighty, staying at the farthest corner of the run whenever I enter. But he is otherwise nice, gentle with the ladies and mounts them regularly without leaving a single feather out of place.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - you have some great advice already so I'll just say hello!

All the best
CT

 

[drumstick diva]