Separation... AGAIN!

[The Angry Hen]

Hello,

I have had only 1 mother hen (so far.)

Another hen that was the same breed and gender,
had pecked the 1 baby hen that hatched under the mother hen.

AND the rooster was chasing around the hen.

We separated both the baby and mother...

I have them in a small cage, perfect for 2 birds.
But, I want the baby (that is now and hen) to become a mother too,
unless we had a bigger cage we can't have a rooster with them.

I found out, the baby can't be with the rooster that she hatched from,
no choice, need a DIFFERENT rooster when I do breed them. (Not now but want to know!)

In 19 years, imagine how many cages I have! Too many!

1, 2, 3, 4 AND MORE CAGES!

Now I want to breed my other hens, what do I do?
I can't build again, was the: "Baby can't be with the rooster it hatched from." Thing a fib?

-The Angry Hen

 

[TheTwoRoos]

That isn't true. Doesn't matter if daughter and father,mother and son,brother and sister etc mate withe eachoother in poultry,just doesn't matter.You can keep the same rooster and breed him.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Also,the hen would have to be broody and actually want to hatch to become a mother.

 

[The Angry Hen]

Also,the hen would have to be broody and actually want to hatch to become a mother.

Hello,

Oh, yes, I know.
I am not planning on breeding her YET.
When she is broody, by then I might have another rooster.

-The Angry Hen

 

[The Angry Hen]

That isn't true. Doesn't matter if daughter and father,mother and son,brother and sister etc mate withe eachoother in poultry,just doesn't matter.You can keep the same rooster and breed him.

Hello,

Thank you!
I did not know that!

-The Angry Hen

 

[Mrs. K]

I would not plan on keeping the mother/chick in a cage for a long period of time. In fact I don't really believe in separating the birds like that, but I may have a totally different set up. Let me explain some chicken behaviors and what they mean, and how I work around them. Maybe this information won't apply to your set up, if so, no big deal, just ignore.

Chickens need space. A happy flock has adequate space in the coop and in the run. A rule of thumb is 4 square feet of floor space for the coop, and 10 sq feet for the coop. Just a rule of thumb, but with some experience, and by paying attention, you will find that the number of birds that fit best. Pre fab coops, often times say that 4 times as many birds will fit, but they won't happily. There is NOT enough room, and that causes a lot of problems.

The coop and the run, need to be multiple levels. In both places there needs to be roosts, platforms that birds can get on top of and underneath. There needs to be some hideouts, such as piece of plywood leaned up against the wall. If you have more that 3-5 birds, I think you need multiple feed stations, that are out of sight of each other. This will allow more timid birds to get enough to eat.

Birds will peck each other. Older birds will peck smaller younger birds. And that is ok. That is how birds say, this is your place in the pecking order. As younger birds get bigger, they will change the pecking order again. As birds get old, they often move down the pecking order. When you have a mixed generational flock (a very good thing, I think) it is important to have the hideouts. This is what will happen. A top bird is eating at the dish, and a younger bird comes forward to get some too. The older bird gives a peck. This is a chicken signal, I am above you, mind your manners. In my pen, the little one runs away, disappears from sight. Think of it as curtseying to the Queen, cause once they do that, I have seen them come right back, stand right next to the Queen and both of them eat.

When problems exist, is in very tight quarters. I have seen pictures of numerous runs that are just a small, bare rectangle. There is no place for a bird to get away, to move out of sight, to curtsey to the Queen, so the Queen gets very mad, and thumps again to prove her point. The younger bird would like to hide, but there is no place... often times this is where a continuous attack will occur and can lead to death. A good solution to this is a "one way gate" I recently used lattice panels. The chicks could run through it easily, the older birds could not follow. I kept a feed bowl and water behind it. The chicks used it as a safe place, and could venture out into the main flock on their own terms. If they got scared, or chased, they could retreat to this safe place. They learned proper chicken manners without being ruthlessly pursued and killed.

As for the rooster problem, I keep my rooster with all my hens and the this years chicks. Now that does not mean I am going to hatch all those eggs. I just hatch the eggs I want. As said above, you do not need to worry about father daughter issue for many years, and by then most likely you will either have new hens or a new rooster. Or if that kind of thing bothers you, then just don'e hatch the daughters eggs, those can be your cooking or eating eggs.

For years, I got by with one set up. They all lived together. Recently, blessed with a handy son - in- law, I did get a second set up. I use the old set up to separate the roosters that I hatch out. As too many roosters, especially juvenile roosters are hard on the flock, and cause a lot of strife.

So if you are still with me (rather long winded, sorry) I would look at my set up, measure it, and see what the square footage is. Then I would count my birds and see if they fit. I would add some hideouts, roosts, and one way gates in the set up, and put everyone back together. Put the chick in the safe spot, keep her mother on the outside. You want the chick to realize, that she can go out to her mother or retreat to this other safe spot.

I hope this of help.

Mrs. K

 

[The Angry Hen]

Hello Mrs. K,

Thank you very much for the advice!
Any ideas, are what I consider helpful.

I have perches, I recently did some renovation and
took down really high perches.
(I have had a hen fall off a really high perch)

My Dad and I are in the process of figuring out more perches.
(High but lower than the last.)

Thank you again for the response!
Have a great day!

-The Angry Hen