I posted yesterday trying to figure out if my suppose to be "pullet" was really a pullet or a roo, with the help from you all on BYC i think i have a little Barred Rock roo. Now another problem, it has been in the coop with my older roo and two hens for about 3 weeks. If it is a lil roo, will my hens still not like it and peck it? My lil "roo" stays on roost pretty much all day until i go into the coop, then he will fly down and eat and drink but as soon as i leave he fly's back up. Wether its a pullet or roo it is scared to death of the other ones, is there a way to fix this? Thanks
Is there a way that your little roo can have a separate section of the run or a shelf for some food & water, so he does not have to wait for you to run defense. I have 10 pullets that are now 11 weeks old, 3 that are 9 weeks & 2 that are 7 weeks. 4 weeks ago I put all 15 together, but the 5 younger were separated by wire fencing from the older 10. The younger 5 came in each night & slept in the brooder. 2 1/2 weeks ago, I moved the brooder out to the coop for the night, and left an opening in the run where the little ones were fenced in from the older girls. Some of my older girls will chase the little ones, and the 5 little ones keep to themselves. I make sure each group has their own food & water (the little ones hung out in the coop the first few days when I put all of them together with no separate fencing). Last week, I was about to put everyone to bed & I got distracted by my daughters wanting a bedtime story, after that was done & went & sat down. I kept thinking, what did I forget to do, then the light bulb went on! "I forgot to put the chickens to bed!" Went out with the flashlight & all my girls were in their coop, the 5 little ones were on the roosting bars (my big girls do not use them, they pile up like a puddle of puppies). So today I removed the brooder container for good. No pulled feathers, no missing feathers, no owies on the heads or back of the necks. They have been together for a month now, each group still has their own camp, but they are happy & growing.
