Setting Up for Intermittent Free-ranging of Juvenile Chickens

[centrarchid]

Roughly 200 chickens are being targeted for this production season. They are being spread out with hatch dates owing to capacity issues, especially when they are free-range. I have dogs and fencing, but operation is spread over multiple acres so challenges remain, especially where raptors are concerned. Raptors are much less of an issue in natural harem settings but that is not going to be used this year for most. Currently about 130 are in pipe representing four "subflocks" that are currently penned separately and will be housed in separate coops during free-range stage. Chicks have been under cover of barn for two weeks and will be moved to field coops now they are about 4 weeks old. Delay has more to do with ability of chicks to tolerate heavy rain events. A coop design based in part in chicken wire has been settled upon to contain chickens and exclude raptors. Fencing and dogs keep other baddies from challenging poultry wire. The real challenge will be getting birds to return to pens each evening to roost. Birds will be allowed to free-range for only about 2 hours each day. This is going to be fun trying find a way to get more rapid and complete training of birds to use the coops I constructed.

 

[centrarchid]

Image below shows what I can see from house. Some rearranging of foreground in process. Ideally I can see and here clearly from porch what is going on, as can dogs. Note three white boxes drawn below / in front of barn. Box to right already has as elevated coop to be used with first cohort of about 35 chicks. Two more will be setup to left in others drawn boxes. Effort will be made to get foraging activity to approach house and go down hill to left. Do not want them actually in the yard. Feeding stations and cover patches will help with all of that.

 

[centrarchid]

Two elevated pens now working as desired where chicks / juveniles all get in on their own without my help. What was taking me 30 minutes each night to put birds up is now going to be about 2 minutes. We are about saving time and energy so wife and small kids can put birds up with minimal effort when I leave town.

 

[centrarchid]

Third elevated group started last night. I contains the following that are about 5 weeks old unless stated otherwise:
8 small American Dominiques
7 Little Rollo's (American Games)
6 Line B x Dom (American Games)
3 Little T's (son's American Games)
5 Little Edgar's (American Games)
Butch and the Gooch (American Dominiques about 9 weeks old)

The games, if left to their own devices would fight to the extreme with potential for losses. Most fighting is between siblings. The little Edgar's are particularly problematic. Butch and Gooch pulled from another group specifically to kick butt. Butch and Gooch prevent the games from causing real damage.

 

[centrarchid]

We are 24 hours into this. The Gooch and Butch both accept all chicks except the little Edgar's into their social group. The little Edgar's scurry from corner to corner in effort to avoid attacks by the larger American Dominique cockerels. Egg (largest males of the little Edgar's) has a swollen head with bite marks as evidence of fighting. One of the designated bullies has some damage as well so was not always a one-sided contest. The little Edgar's are producing sounds that indicate they are being smart asses. That will likely change over the next 24 hours. The change needs to be in the little Edgar's first.

The second batch was free-ranging near their pen in high weeds. They exploded out of weeds like a covey of quail. It appears a Cotton-tailed Rabbit doe is trying to keep them away from her nest under the Buck Brush patch.

 

[centrarchid]

The little Edgar's still causing trouble and hiding in corners as a group. When someone from outside their group approaches, the larger little Edgar's attack with considerable aggression. Even females attack. Exception is with Butch and Gooch that attack the little Edgar's. Still, things are setting down with Butch and Gooch being gentle overlords with respect to balance of batch in pen. We are getting there. Starting Friday I will release entire batch to forage about an hour before dark. Then they can all get into fights with juveniles from batch 2 in pen about 10 feet away.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Video!

 

[centrarchid]

Butch and the Gooch not realizing good suppression of violence. Little Edgar in second image bloodies a bit.

Lacking patience, I added Stanley (American Game cock). He is a reliable moderator that is exceptionally easy to handle. Scrapping began to decrease within 30 minutes of Stanley's introduction. Discord stopped immediately in close proximity to Stanley. Feed intake and dust bathing began quickly in his shadow. He did not peck a single juvenile.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So Butch and Gooch are how old approx.? Do you think they are not moderating because the chicks like Little Edgar are game or they just aren't mature enough?

btw - Little Edgar looks a bit ticked off, I think he's plotting revenge

 

[centrarchid]

This the first time for me to try American Dominique cockerels that are still juveniles. I have done this with similar aged American Games as the moderators but am much more comfortable with procedure using a cock or bullstag as that has been the way I have done it the most. The gameness of the games is a complicating issue to be sure.

As of this morning the violence appears to have subsided. A key part of this working involves some sort of interaction at dawn.