- Apr 20, 2013
- 17
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As some of you already know, I decided to do use the stingy and lazy way to increase my flock. I've got a rooster. I've got some hens. They're all Brahmas. I waited around until one hen decided to try and remove my fingers when I came to do my daily egg requisition. A little plywood and chicken wire, and that corner of the coop became a brooder--spare feeder and waterer were already on hand.
About a dozen chicks hatched in requisite time. Since the corner was fairly spacious, I left brooding to mama hen and have been giving them all chick mash and fresh water, daily. My plan was to, eventually, when they got big enough, start to introduce them to the flock.
Now, I already knew that Brahmas are diggers. Did you know that Brahma chicks are diggers?
So, I went out yesterday, and there were the peeps, peeping away, actually climbing all over some hens and one of the cocks, who were taking it all in stride.
I'm still going to keep the "brooder" area walled in for a while, since they go back there to eat, and that lets me make sure that only the chicks and mama hen eat the chick mash, but it seems that the flock had entirely different ideas of when it was the right time to introduce the chicks.
Maybe it's because my chicken run is "too big", according to my wife, but I have yet to run into a lot of the problems that I had read about with chickens mistreating each other. The only problem I had was two of the cocks who were about the same size as each other just couldn't get along, so I ate one of them. The remaining two cocks quickly established a stable dominance hierarchy. However, I have noticed that there is always space for a few of the chickens to go sulk in a corner, if they feel like it.
About a dozen chicks hatched in requisite time. Since the corner was fairly spacious, I left brooding to mama hen and have been giving them all chick mash and fresh water, daily. My plan was to, eventually, when they got big enough, start to introduce them to the flock.
Now, I already knew that Brahmas are diggers. Did you know that Brahma chicks are diggers?
So, I went out yesterday, and there were the peeps, peeping away, actually climbing all over some hens and one of the cocks, who were taking it all in stride.
I'm still going to keep the "brooder" area walled in for a while, since they go back there to eat, and that lets me make sure that only the chicks and mama hen eat the chick mash, but it seems that the flock had entirely different ideas of when it was the right time to introduce the chicks.
Maybe it's because my chicken run is "too big", according to my wife, but I have yet to run into a lot of the problems that I had read about with chickens mistreating each other. The only problem I had was two of the cocks who were about the same size as each other just couldn't get along, so I ate one of them. The remaining two cocks quickly established a stable dominance hierarchy. However, I have noticed that there is always space for a few of the chickens to go sulk in a corner, if they feel like it.
I think things went better because of my rooster. I'd like to know if others felt the same way.
