What did you do with your flock today?

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Still here! They never gave us warnings, nothing! We are pretty darn close to that ocean and only 9' above sea level... so I guess they were not worried as they just told us to stay away from the oceans edge. I was surprise to see a wave washing through Tonga. Poor, beautiful people ♡♡♡ hope they are ok.
 
For us here, it's the severe winter storm barreling down that we're dealing with. The reds are too stupid to use sense and get out of the cold rain (that's to be followed by snow later today). So I locked them in their henhouse with a big plate of food (too late to hang a feeder and I dont usually feed them in the houses). They always have a waterer in there. This time though, they didnt put up much of a fuss about going inside and immediately went about finding cozy places to bed down. I dont care if they sleep in the nest boxes or on the floor in a pile of straw. So long as they're warm and dry until this storm passes.
 
Oh @GoatsandGuineas about the roosters. I totally get where you are at with wanting them all or as many to work as possible. I recommend checking out rooster threads - not to confuse you but I have noticed not all shoes fit- what works for one does not work for another. Rooster lovemaking is not gentle especially with the young. Give your old bats a few young lads to work over. It will teach the boys respect and benefit your young pullets greatly.

I think having (yet another) pen so you can separate and thin any bad behavior. Timed outs and just things you don't like or are not in the mood for- toss them in and enjoy the quiet. You don't want your hens getting attacked on all sides EVER. Give the girls one or 2 of your favorites (behavior and colors or breeding, things you want to pass along) to work with first and after all is well add another boy. Your old red bats will help protect the pullets from bad roo behavior. Then the established boy and girls will help train the next guy out. Let the ladies establish the pecking order, let them help pick the boy.
Add boys during fine weather and free-range, not confinement. Boys will be fine in one pen together as long as no blood. Let them sort their stuff and get their own alpha and let the girls give them a good wallop. Your bossy reds will be essential for that so don't eat them yet lol (unless you get snowed in or have a zombie attack) Best they get that respect while the boys are smaller, great training tool. But having too many boys may cause some serious stress and it will be overwhelming for all. You will ebb and flow as the boys will as they grow and show different traits and behaviors. If you have a separate pen or bachelor pen then you are not making big decisions or wrong ones. The boys will have time to prove themselves to you and the girls. I notice my girls will help me pick the boy they want. They attached immediately to Spider (he was about 6 months old) and not so much his brother who was very people fabulous. I had never seen the girls do that before except to 1 feral cock whos DNA I did not want. I went through about 7-10 boys before Spider and what works for him works for me. I get rid of or timeout anyone who makes him work too hard or challenges him.

Not exactly sure how old your boys are. Can you post a photo? ;););)
 
Last edited:
TropicalBabies said:
Oh @G&G about the roosters. I totally get where you are at with wanting them all or as many to work as possible. I recommend checking out rooster threads - not to confuse you but I have noticed not all shoes fit- what works for one does not work for another. Rooster lovemaking is not gentle especially with the young. Give your old bats a few young lads to work over. It will teach the boys respect and benefit your young pullets greatly.

I think having (yet another) pen so you can separate and thin any bad behavior. Timed outs and just things you don't like or are not in the mood for- toss them in and enjoy the quiet. You don't want your hens getting attacked on all sides EVER. Give the girls one or 2 of your favorites (behavior and colors or breeding, things you want to pass along) to work with first and after all is well add another boy. Your old red bats will help protect the pullets from bad roo behavior. Then the established boy and girls will help train the next guy out. Let the ladies establish the pecking order, let them help pick the boy.
Add boys during fine weather and free-range, not confinement. Boys will be fine in one pen together as long as no blood. Let them sort their stuff and get their own alpha and let the girls give them a good wallop. Your bossy reds will be essential for that so don't eat them yet lol (unless you get snowed in or have a zombie attack) Best they get that respect while the boys are smaller, great training tool. But having too many boys may cause some serious stress and it will be overwhelming for all. You will ebb and flow as the boys will as they grow and show different traits and behaviors. If you have a separate pen or bachelor pen then you are not making big decisions or wrong ones. The boys will have time to prove themselves to you and the girls. I notice my girls will help me pick the boy they want. They attached immediately to Spider (he was about 6 months old) and not so much his brother who was very people fabulous. I had never seen the girls do that before except to 1 feral cock whos DNA I did not want. I went through about 7-10 boys before Spider and what works for him works for me. I get rid of or timeout anyone who makes him work too hard or challenges him.

Not exactly sure how old your boys are. Can you post a photo? ;););)
Click to expand...
and another thing.... because you have many girls the boys will pick their favorites. your red bats will probably be 1st choice, second roo will get the lesser favorites and so on. they work separate and together. They need room when together and they need time. Young boys are dorks. Be sure to establish yourself as the big chicken in charge. I like to pick up and carry my boys when they get saucy. I also like to feed my main guy so he can tidbit. So me one, him two, then hens and I don't forget the back up boys as you never know when they will be #1 roo
 

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