AntiqueB
Free Ranging
I have 2 year-old hens, an EE and a BO. I also have 2 younger ones: a 4-week-old SS and a 13-week-old EE. They free range in my fenced backyard, about 50'x20', but the younger ones sleep indoors. Both babies have been outside during the day since a couple weeks old.
The BO is pretty bad at chasing the younger ones, but the baby EE is also not very good at standing her ground. At this point, I suspect the SS will soon overtake her in the pecking order. The SS, for as small as she is, will steal grapes and other treats from the bigger birds, but the young EE just watches. She runs in terror whenever an adult approaches.
Any ideas how to move this integration along? She's getting a bit big to stay in a box inside for the night (she's nearly the size of the big girls now), but I'm afraid they'll either kill her if I try to put her in the coop with them, or she'll die of terror.
The BO is pretty bad at chasing the younger ones, but the baby EE is also not very good at standing her ground. At this point, I suspect the SS will soon overtake her in the pecking order. The SS, for as small as she is, will steal grapes and other treats from the bigger birds, but the young EE just watches. She runs in terror whenever an adult approaches.
Any ideas how to move this integration along? She's getting a bit big to stay in a box inside for the night (she's nearly the size of the big girls now), but I'm afraid they'll either kill her if I try to put her in the coop with them, or she'll die of terror.