Wanted to get everybody's opinion on this. My 6-yr-old EE roo (Muad'dib) has been acting ill for a few weeks, and tonight he is sleeping in the nest box. If he lasts the night, I have a feeling he will probably die sometime tomorrow or soon after. (Pretty sure it's natural--both his wives died this past year. He's been acting like he's too tired to stand up, and has just been lounging in the coop for the last week.)
I knew he was getting old so this spring I bought 5 straight-run Welsummers, 3 of which turned out to be roos; I also have three other pullets. All eight live together in a separate chicken hutch, with their own run. My plan has always been to move the pullets to the coop when they were big enough (which they are--20 weeks old now), and leave the 3 cockerels in the hutch until Muad'dib dies.
However, I also hatched two chicks in June from Muad'dib, one of which is looking to be a boy, so the pair of them will never be able to be put with the other chickens (it would be too cruel to separate them). I only have two chicken pens. The best solution I can see is for everyone to end up in the coop except for the two 8-wk-olds, who will have the hutch to themselves. That will make 3 cockerels in the coop, and 11 hens (I did plan to get rid of at least one of the cockerels, but until I see signs of over-mating I'm not going to fret over it; the two junior cockerels are so timid that it may not be an issue).
My question is: If Muad'dib dies tomorrow, should I take advantage of the confusion and move all eight 20-wk-olds into the coop? Or should I give my older girls (6 of them, ages 2-4) time to get over the shock? After all, he's taken care of them for their entire lives, and it seems mean to throw three strange cockerels at them so soon. (Although, only Ajax, the senior one, seems to be sexually mature so the hens probably wouldn't be overpowered.)
Second question: Ajax got loose two weeks ago and ran up to the other run. My Sussex went nuts; the two of them were trying to kill each other through the fence. It's not him, it's her; she freaked out when the two babies were visiting too. She sticks out her neck feathers like a betta fish and growls and jumps at the fence. I'm afraid that when the flocks are combined, she's going to peck somebody's eyes out (or just as likely, Ajax will seriously injure her). When the integration eventually happens, should I lock her up in the broody cage until everyone else settles in? She's the youngest of my adult hens, so I've never had to introduce her to someone new before. Does anyone have tips for dealing with an extremely aggressive hen?
I knew he was getting old so this spring I bought 5 straight-run Welsummers, 3 of which turned out to be roos; I also have three other pullets. All eight live together in a separate chicken hutch, with their own run. My plan has always been to move the pullets to the coop when they were big enough (which they are--20 weeks old now), and leave the 3 cockerels in the hutch until Muad'dib dies.
However, I also hatched two chicks in June from Muad'dib, one of which is looking to be a boy, so the pair of them will never be able to be put with the other chickens (it would be too cruel to separate them). I only have two chicken pens. The best solution I can see is for everyone to end up in the coop except for the two 8-wk-olds, who will have the hutch to themselves. That will make 3 cockerels in the coop, and 11 hens (I did plan to get rid of at least one of the cockerels, but until I see signs of over-mating I'm not going to fret over it; the two junior cockerels are so timid that it may not be an issue).
My question is: If Muad'dib dies tomorrow, should I take advantage of the confusion and move all eight 20-wk-olds into the coop? Or should I give my older girls (6 of them, ages 2-4) time to get over the shock? After all, he's taken care of them for their entire lives, and it seems mean to throw three strange cockerels at them so soon. (Although, only Ajax, the senior one, seems to be sexually mature so the hens probably wouldn't be overpowered.)
Second question: Ajax got loose two weeks ago and ran up to the other run. My Sussex went nuts; the two of them were trying to kill each other through the fence. It's not him, it's her; she freaked out when the two babies were visiting too. She sticks out her neck feathers like a betta fish and growls and jumps at the fence. I'm afraid that when the flocks are combined, she's going to peck somebody's eyes out (or just as likely, Ajax will seriously injure her). When the integration eventually happens, should I lock her up in the broody cage until everyone else settles in? She's the youngest of my adult hens, so I've never had to introduce her to someone new before. Does anyone have tips for dealing with an extremely aggressive hen?
