The EE braggers thread!!!

[MaryRose213]

I feel I made need to build a seperate EE coop if things do not get better soon. I feel that this is not the usual pecking order that I have seen in the past when introducing the wyandottes. I have to send all the hens out before the EEs will start to act like chickens like taking a dust bath or scratching around. I will give it another few days before I rehome the bully hens.

 

[flower]

Have you tried no pick. It has a bad tast and when sprayed topically the pickers avoid it. If you can find some it might help. Also it is always good to have additional spaces for sick, broody birds or to seperate you flock. Do you have a rooster ?

Sorry that you are having so much trouble. It is frequently not easy to add to established flocks.

 

[chicken pickin]

I feel I made need to build a seperate EE coop if things do not get better soon. I feel that this is not the usual pecking order that I have seen in the past when introducing the wyandottes. I have to send all the hens out before the EEs will start to act like chickens like taking a dust bath or scratching around. I will give it another few days before I rehome the bully hens.

How long have they been in the same coop/run together ?

 

[cheeka]

I had gotten 3 new birds (2 cocks, 1 bantam pullet), all 4-6 weeks younger than the original flock... they lived separately in a portable run for a little over 2 months... not really a quarantine, they were too close in proximity to the enclosure for air borne situations, but my new 3 came from a very very nice clean place where the former owner keeps a closed flock. they all free ranged together from the second day, so there was significant space for escape if necessary... but it wasn't really a problem... I am fortunate, I don't have feather pullers... the RIR's can be bossy, but the new 3 (including the bantam) chest bumped with them and proved their strength. about 2 months later, we had a nasty cold snap, so I moved the newbies into the enclosure at night, and the rest is history. the enclosure is quite large, with 2 coops attached - one coop has 1 roost, the other has 2 roosts and there are 3 roosts within the enclosure. the only modification I had to make was to attach 2 quart sized feeder/waterer to the wire wall for the bantam. this way she is ensured to have a full crop, the only one who helps her consume her feed is one of the roos that came with her.
It takes time and attention to the living quarters ~ needs to be big enough to give room for escape from bullies.
MaryRose, while I don't know how large the space is for your chickens, but if the EE's have crammed themselves to the edges or corners and are facing away... they may just feel trapped with no safe haven. if it were me, I would take the bullies out. see if the bullying behavior is passed on to the next birds in the order... if not, then fine, leave the bullies out for a month, then reintroduce them after the EE's have healed and taken a place within the order. hopefully the bullies would then find themselves no longer at the top... but if the pecking resumes... I would not wait for blood to be drawn. the bullies would go that day. but that's me...
best of luck!

 

[Basel]

O wow if you live near Ma I have a forever home

I had a beautiful barred roo (Smore's brother) he had huge muffs & a little beard, but he was so handsome.... He was the leader of his incubator pals. One day I couldn't find him anywhere, sadly it looks like he sacrificed himself to a predator, so his hatch mates could get away safely. A sad scene it was - looked like someone ran over a down pillow with a lawnmower

Sorry about your little roo.

Well, I live near Philadelphia, which is not so very far. Perhaps we could meet? My brother lives in Boston and I might go up over the holidays.... If you're serious, let me know.

This little chick is not only barred and bearded, but blue too!! I am sure he's going to be gorgeous.

Additionally, he is a very sweet mellow chick right now. His AM daddy and Barred Rock mom are both such mellow and sweet birds, I am hoping these traits will be in their babies as well. His daddy is little a pussy cat and likes to be held and petted. Never ever aggressive.

 

[inthesticks]

Sorry about your little roo.

Well, I live near Philadelphia, which is not so very far. Perhaps we could meet? My brother lives in Boston and I might go up over the holidays.... If you're serious, let me know.

This little chick is not only barred and bearded, but blue too!! I am sure he's going to be gorgeous.

Additionally, he is a very sweet mellow chick right now. His AM daddy and Barred Rock mom are both such mellow and sweet birds, I am hoping these traits will be in their babies as well. His daddy is little a pussy cat and likes to be held and petted. Never ever aggressive.

Thank you, he was a sweetie

O that would be wonderful. If you do go up to your brothers, def bring him. Always have a spot for 1 more! I'm not that far off your travel rt so I could meet up with you.

I will be making some changes to my current coop to add a 1st floor. 5 of my ducks refuse to go into the coop so this way I can get them to go in with the others & put in extra roosting poles so there will be more extra space!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

But I needed to put peepers on the Marans and Ameraucanas to keep them from feather picking.

Is your coop roomy? Are they getting enough protein? My EE babies are doing it something awful, but it's because they've outgrown their brooder They've been integrated into the flock as of today, finally, so it should stop now. (I've been doing the intro slow for a month, babies are 10 weeks)

It takes time and attention to the living quarters ~ needs to be big enough to give room for escape from bullies.
MaryRose, while I don't know how large the space is for your chickens, but if the EE's have crammed themselves to the edges or corners and are facing away... they may just feel trapped with no safe haven.

That's what i was wondering, too? A safe bet is a 4x4 space per bird? A lot of coops advertise a much higher number of birds than is good for a space. My production red i was given was mean to my EE's too though. I put up with it as long as i could, but she wouldn't let them eat and chased them down to bite

 

[cheeka]

4 x 4 is the absolute minimum. the bigger the better! there is no such thing as "too big", only too small, and way too small... I've never kept the gang in anyplace too small, but it's because I have options... OK, now... my chickens are part of a group of 26 original chicks, rescue chicks, due to a shipping error... I divvied them up amongst friends. one couple was so excited to get theirs, they had been talking for the last year about getting some, hence my approach with an offer... they built the coop and run fairly quickly, yet failed to finish securing one small area on one side, so they were unable to move the flock in. (???) kept them in rubbermaid tubs for far too long. they even failed to separate them into separate tubs once they were crowded due to sheer size, nor did they separate them when the feather pulling started. so they ended up with 2 bald, bleeding, miserably hungry and thirsty chickens and 4 bullies, and I told them they should give them back to me. when they came to visit me, they were amazed how big my gang is, how friendly they are with each other... it's all about space, I said... and they got it together, finished the run and moved them in. with escape routes and space and roosts, their flock dynamic became much more peaceable and they began to flourish. First thing I would consider is expansion. I like 6 x 6 minimum myself, but that's bc I have the space to do so.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Yes, it's been a sad thing watching my babies suffer I had to do a fall hatch to hatch my hen's last egg, i was successful but unfortunately haven't been able to give away my extras; no one wants any young ones here because of the bad corn harvest/ high feed costs Hopefully the intro will buy me time to get these guys homes. (all i had was a 2x4 dog kennel, way too small for more than a few bigger chicks)

I like to err on the lenient side too; i usually keep only 5-6 birds in my 8x16 camper coop, as during the winter they don't like to go outside. (They lounge in the big bay window, i have a perch set up there for them

I also select for docile temperament, the ones who are content to stay close and don't get restless in confinement. (Turns out those are the best huggers, too )

 

[bruceha2000]

Have you tried no pick. It has a bad tast and when sprayed topically the pickers avoid it. If you can find some it might help.

Where do you find that? I put "no pick" chicken in Google and got a ton of "No peek chicken" recipes.

Thanks, Bruce