Our Mixed Flock Journey!

[N F C]

Good morning! Well, I let the new Silkies have direct interaction with the rest of the flock this weekend. The first day they spent quite a bit of time in the safety of the dog kennel that I use as their coop. Now they seem to be coming out and mixing in quite a bit better. I've been making sure that they get their morning mash, because they really aren't pushy enough to get it on their own, but today I think I'm going to stand back more and let them work for it as they do seem to be mingling with the other chickens! I need to figure out how to get them into the main coop at night. When we put the roost bars in I wasn't thinking about how hard it would be to move chickens around and they all seem to like roosting right in front of the door...lol! There is still a lot of room in there, it will just be hard for me to place the Silkies on the roost bars. I might just move their little roost bar into a corner of the coop today and then go out tonight to move them into the coop and place them on that and see how it goes! Then they can decide when they want to get up onto the main bars! I will also remove the dog kennel.

Little Roo seems to be getting more aggressive, I don't know if it's because Roo 2 quit being bullied by him. He bit my wrist pretty hard this weekend and made it bleed. I was just adding food to the feeder and wasn't even paying attention to him! I haven't been trying to pet him anymore, he won't have any of that. We'll see how aggressive he gets...makes me sad, but I will not keep a mean rooster. I'm hoping that once he can get out into the free range pen things will get better, the enclosed pen is just too small to completely avoid him! Time will tell!

Glad to hear the Silkies seem to be fitting in ok Rene! Sorry about Little Roo acting up, that bite had to hurt.

 

[drstratton]

Beautiful set up, Rene! I'm sure your chickens are very happy

Thank you Rei! I think they are, but they will be even happier once they get to roam the new pen!

 

[drstratton]

Glad to hear the Silkies seem to be fitting in ok Rene! Sorry about Little Roo acting up, that bite had to hurt.

I'm glad that they are settling in! Thank you Debby, it didn't feel very good that's for sure... ornery little bugger...

 

[drstratton]

I removed the Silkies pen and mini coop earlier today and I placed their little roost into the main coop. We went out just before it was dark and placed them with the rest of the flock. I was surprised to see that the chickens were not roosting right by the door, they were mostly on the other side, it made the move much easier. I put the Silkies in the corner where I set their roost. I kind of doubt that they will use it tonight. I hope they figure out to go back in tomorrow night on their own, if not we will repeat the procedure!

I finally saw Roo 2 crowing today, he's probably been doing it for awhile but this is the first time I've seen & known it was him. He's still way friendlier than Little Roo...I hope he stays that way!

 

[Riv-6]

I removed the Silkies pen and mini coop earlier today and I placed their little roost into the main coop. We went out just before it was dark and placed them with the rest of the flock. I was surprised to see that the chickens were not roosting right by the door, they were mostly on the other side, it made the move much easier. I put the Silkies in the corner where I set their roost. I kind of doubt that they will use it tonight. I hope they figure out to go back in tomorrow night on their own, if not we will repeat the procedure!

I finally saw Roo 2 crowing today, he's probably been doing it for awhile but this is the first time I've seen & known it was him. He's still way friendlier than Little Roo...I hope he stays that way!

Hopefully the Silkies can figure it out! I'm really sorry to hear about Little Roo. Maybe he will turn around. Mean roosters are not okay I'm glad to hear Roo 2 is still being friendly!

 

[drstratton]

Hopefully the Silkies can figure it out! I'm really sorry to hear about Little Roo. Maybe he will turn around. Mean roosters are not okay I'm glad to hear Roo 2 is still being friendly!

I'm sure they will, but I don't know how quickly, I've read that they are not the smartest chickens...hopefully they will surprise me!
I agree, mean roosters are not okay...I'm hoping once they have more room he'll improve...I don't think he will ever be friendly again and that's okay, but he can't attack anyone, that will be the deciding factor...he needs to protect his flock from predators, not his people...Thanks Rei!

 

[drstratton]

I know, not chickens, but still cute!

Some updated photo's of our breeding stock! We will be separating them into their own hutches soon, just a bit more updating needed on the old dual hutch!

Sharing some Swiss Chard! Buck, Chloe & Daphne!

This little girl (Chloe) has come a long way! She was born in a rabbit colony and has been extremely wary of me! She has finally started coming over to say hello! I'm a bit concerned about what kind of growth rate we will see from her kits, as the ones from the same colony grew quite slowly, to much inbreeding! Hopefully with the infusion of fresh purebred NZ gene's they will grow faster. She's turning into a sweet little rabbit, so hopefully she will work out!

This boy has really grown, but he's still smaller than Daphne! One of my favorite rabbit poses!

 

[N F C]

Your rabbits are really pretty Rene!

 

[drstratton]

Your rabbits are really pretty Rene!

Thank you Debby! They are pretty cute... lol!

 

[WhoDatChick]

I'm sure they will, but I don't know how quickly, I've read that they are not the smartest chickens...hopefully they will surprise me!
I agree, mean roosters are not okay...I'm hoping once they have more room he'll improve...I don't think he will ever be friendly again and that's okay, but he can't attack anyone, that will be the deciding factor...he needs to protect his flock from predators, not his people...Thanks Rei!

Hi yall!
My daughter and I went to her friends house yesterday and she brought us into her coop/run to show us her chickens... she had three roosters living peacefully within the flock.. two FCMs and one Cochin bantam.. they didn’t mind us one bit.. then she picked each one up and cuddled them.. she also had other yards with roos and hens... went and picked each one of them up.. and her little sister picked up another one.. I was very impressed at how many sweet roosters she has.. if I ever decide to have a rooster.. I will definitely get one from her!
Hopefully you will have a sweet one too!