KHasChickens
Chirping
- May 12, 2020
- 30
- 32
- 94
Hello wise and experienced chicken keepers! I currently have a flock of 8 4 year old ladies (we became chicken keepers during the pandemic as many did)--3 australorps, 3 sapphire gems, one Easter egger, and one speckled Sussex. They are not able to free-range due to predators--found that out a very hard way, so I try to offer them as much enrichment as I can.
The Speckled Sussex has always been a runt and at the bottom of the pecking order and now spends all of her time perching and staying away from the others who all generally treat her mostly with disdain if not outright meanness. The one elder chicken who got along with everyone--my peacekeeper, passed away recently. My SS is scrappy and fast, so she survives by avoiding everyone and eating late, usually. The 3 australorps are like the mob bosses of the flock.
Our coop was built with scraps during quarantine in 2020, and it is a sturdy tank, but about 2 years ago, our chickens decided to start sleeping outside in the run on a roosting bar under a tarped roof...and never went back. (The run is predatorproof.) The use the nesting boxes, but no one sleeps in there. If it is crazy cold and windy, we will shoo them in there, but they severely dislike it, and the lower-ranking hens are targeted more in the enclosed space. The ladies are getting older, but we average 2-3 eggs per day as the days are getting longer. Can't really tell who is laying when...except for the Easter egger.
So now I now have 4 chicks in a brooder-- 2 Wyandotte and 2 red comets...hoping to bring some more red/brown to the flock. We have gotten a second smaller coop (6 chickens, it says) with a small enclosed run that we hope to attach to the common run, with the ability to close off if/when needed. Thought this would help us integrate these 4 chicks when the time comes, and to act as a separating coop if needed by a sick or recuperating chicken--we have had some bumblefoot. (When my husband asked if we were getting more chicks, a second coop was my requirement.) The plan was to put it on the other end of the run since there is a removable panel there.
Wondering if more experienced keeper might have suggestions/logistical insight about things to try or watch out for as we integrate these birds....and how/if I might be able to improve my SS's quality of life. I have thought about rehoming the bully boss...but maybe separating her or even the three australorps in the second coop run for a bit could help? Any thoughts appreciated. My husband thinks I am a chicken coddler...so he kinda rolls his eyes at all my fussing and flock dynamic strategizing--so very different than his chicken-raising days of yore. But I'm a sensitive animal-lover, and since I do most all of the work and care of them, he supports me doing it my way, and I want a happy flock.
Would love any ideas or thoughts you might have. Thanks!
The Speckled Sussex has always been a runt and at the bottom of the pecking order and now spends all of her time perching and staying away from the others who all generally treat her mostly with disdain if not outright meanness. The one elder chicken who got along with everyone--my peacekeeper, passed away recently. My SS is scrappy and fast, so she survives by avoiding everyone and eating late, usually. The 3 australorps are like the mob bosses of the flock.
Our coop was built with scraps during quarantine in 2020, and it is a sturdy tank, but about 2 years ago, our chickens decided to start sleeping outside in the run on a roosting bar under a tarped roof...and never went back. (The run is predatorproof.) The use the nesting boxes, but no one sleeps in there. If it is crazy cold and windy, we will shoo them in there, but they severely dislike it, and the lower-ranking hens are targeted more in the enclosed space. The ladies are getting older, but we average 2-3 eggs per day as the days are getting longer. Can't really tell who is laying when...except for the Easter egger.
So now I now have 4 chicks in a brooder-- 2 Wyandotte and 2 red comets...hoping to bring some more red/brown to the flock. We have gotten a second smaller coop (6 chickens, it says) with a small enclosed run that we hope to attach to the common run, with the ability to close off if/when needed. Thought this would help us integrate these 4 chicks when the time comes, and to act as a separating coop if needed by a sick or recuperating chicken--we have had some bumblefoot. (When my husband asked if we were getting more chicks, a second coop was my requirement.) The plan was to put it on the other end of the run since there is a removable panel there.
Wondering if more experienced keeper might have suggestions/logistical insight about things to try or watch out for as we integrate these birds....and how/if I might be able to improve my SS's quality of life. I have thought about rehoming the bully boss...but maybe separating her or even the three australorps in the second coop run for a bit could help? Any thoughts appreciated. My husband thinks I am a chicken coddler...so he kinda rolls his eyes at all my fussing and flock dynamic strategizing--so very different than his chicken-raising days of yore. But I'm a sensitive animal-lover, and since I do most all of the work and care of them, he supports me doing it my way, and I want a happy flock.
Would love any ideas or thoughts you might have. Thanks!