Hi guys, hope I'm posting in the right section, if not tell me and I'll move it.
I'm trying to get my five girls to stop roosting on the top beam of the shed. We have five 7 month olds, and am going to be introducing four new six week olds in about a week or so, and where they roost now is not long enough for all nine hens.
So tonight, I tried to get them to go on their lower roost, we blocked the top roost with a board...this was a bad idea, they got furious! They started picking on the lowest hen in the pecking order, and it got so bad I pulled the board down and let them go up.
They've never picked on each other to that extent.
So my question is, what is the best way to get you're flock to move out of their regular roosing space? Do I need to rearrange the coop completely?
This is my first flock, and first time adding new chicks, so I'm not sure how to make a smooth intergration.
Thanks!
I'm trying to get my five girls to stop roosting on the top beam of the shed. We have five 7 month olds, and am going to be introducing four new six week olds in about a week or so, and where they roost now is not long enough for all nine hens.
So tonight, I tried to get them to go on their lower roost, we blocked the top roost with a board...this was a bad idea, they got furious! They started picking on the lowest hen in the pecking order, and it got so bad I pulled the board down and let them go up.
They've never picked on each other to that extent.
So my question is, what is the best way to get you're flock to move out of their regular roosing space? Do I need to rearrange the coop completely?
This is my first flock, and first time adding new chicks, so I'm not sure how to make a smooth intergration.
Thanks!