Combining two flocks of chickens full#

The coop is theirs and therefore I assume they will not be welcoming to our chickens. The chickens are missing feathers from their back – cannot tell if this is from the rooster or if they are peckers. The chicken inside the coop number about 10 (plus a rooster) we intend to cull the new rooster as ours are not very agressive towards people and we do not need them to adapt agressive tendencies. Our intention is to get them used to coop living and perhaps even a penned space. My flock is 7, 5 hens two roosters, happy and very healthy considering they’ve pretty much free-ranged all winter with a small shelter from the weather. We received a coop from a friend tired of tending the chickens…it came with chickens inside. My next task is to give the big barn a thorough cleaning in preparation of setting up the brooder and ChickCam(!) All animals need space and ample resources, an interesting environment to keep them busy, and time to get to know each other. Establishing a pecking order should be a subtle event. It just goes to show that aggressive behavior can be countered with good management and kindness. The weather is supposed to turn rainy and snowy. I imagine there will be a skirmish or two in the next few days. The hens gave the queen of the barnyard a wide berth.

Candy never looked anything other than regal and implacable and yet somehow the hens knew she was not to be trifled with. I opened the door and she hopped down her ramp. The last step was to introduce Candy to the hens. She barreled through the dust bathing Australorps. Soon, all was calm – except for Lulu, who paced the fence. If I noticed any tension at all, I tossed corn. They walked past each other and ate next to each other, but generally stayed in their flocks. These hens felt so comfortable that they took dust baths and preened. They feel safe when they can get up off the ground. Having outside roosts really helps ease the tension between birds. The flock from the big barn settled on and under the outside roost.

Within moments she forgot the tiff and wanted to get back to eating.Īfter awhile, they tired. Each time I picked up Lulu and calmed her down. I had to physically separate them three times. The only hens that went beyond a ruffling of feathers were Lulu and Maizie. I could read their body language and interrupt aggression before it happened. I kept them busy hurrying here and there for the treats.

Combining two flocks of chickens full#

I didn’t want them to get full too quickly. I sat down and tossed them their candy into all corners.Īs soon as a hen looked huffy, I distracted her with the corn. With a little herding help from Steve, we got all of the hens into the pen. I placed a small stool in the center of the run so that I could comfortably spend time with them. You don’t want the hens to have to compete for those essentials. I prepared the HenCam pen by putting an extra waterer and feeder outside. It was sunny but not windy, which was perfect weather for the hens to be outdoors and to permanently combine the two flocks. Yesterday was a beautiful, albeit chilly, day. Also, they can’t see anything, so an aggressive hen could attack them before they knew she was upon them (it does make them easy to pick up though!) So, I gave each of them a feather trim, and they can now see out and even have some peripheral vision. There’s something about their bobbing topknots that encourages pecking. The hens I was most worried about were the Polish – Tina and Siouxie. When a hen has a safe place to retreat to there is less aggression. For two days, the flocks were physically close to each other, but under no pressure. Soon enough, Lulu lost interest and hurried out of the pen. I picked up whichever one was closer and held her until she calmed down. True to their natures, they set at each other. She doesn’t like anyone and doesn’t tolerate anyone in her space.

She’s like the child with no social skills who barges into conversations and annoys everyone. That’s not the case of the two birds that I knew I had to keep an eye on – Maizie and Lulu. Although Buffy is the leader of the HenCam flock, she took one look at the other six hens and calmly walked away. Each day I lured them all into the HenCam pen with treats. But I had a plan.įor two days I let the flocks free-range under my watch, where they could eyeball each other but keep a distance. I knew that I couldn’t simply throw them together and hope for the best. But, upset the equilibrium and drama ensues. To a visitor the pecking order isn’t obvious as all is peaceful. Each of these flocks are set in their ways. So, I needed to combine all thirteen hens into the HenCam coop. But, I have fifteen chicks coming next month and I need the big barn for them. For a couple of years I’ve kept two separate flocks, one in the big barn and another in the HenCam coop.