mixed ages

[Scuffer]

I have 4 x warrens lovely docile very friendly girls that love their cuddles and lay every day, only been keeping chickens for 3 months now and absolutely love it. Trouble is as i have built a huge 10 foot by 8 foot run and hen house i bought 2 chicks at about three weeks old they are 2/3 rds the size of the warrens but every time i put them together the bigger birds try to kill them (and i mean kill!!) i have them in a small day run within the chicken run so they can see each other safely. I would like to increase my flock to some wynadottes (those in the know please advise me on this i want a mixture of colours and egg colours and like the look of light sussex and know nothing about wellsummers but read good reports) the big hens are out in the garden with me every weekend and are a joy to keep but i need the space back in the run as winter draws near any suggestions would be greatefully recieved

many thanks

Scuffer

 

[Anonymous]

We always introduce new hens at night. By morning they all seem to have forgotten who is who and I guess they all smell the same. There is always some fighting as they sort out the 'pecking' order, but it is usually over very quickly.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tim]

Yes, introducing birds at night is always the best idea - however you should always introduce them once they are similar sizes to give them a chance to cope with the pecking.

If they are smaller than the Warrens, they will without doubt get picked on. As they mature and grow they will be able to fend for themselves more.

I usually introduce growers to a flock of older hens at 21 weeks or more when they are ready to lay. Even then, the older hens will give them a good run for their money. Ideally flocks of different ages should never be mixed.

I would try to put a temporary fence across your run so they can live next to one another, get used to one another and let the smaller birds grow a bit. You will find it far easier once they have lived next to one another with the introduction.

As for the winter - by the time the really cold weather arrives you should be ready to remove the temporary fence which will make things easier.

I hope this helps..

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

We must be lucky. We have about 90 hens from 6 weeks to 9 years all living together. They can choose which of 5 houses they sleep in. Some nights nearly all of them move into one house. I think someone must have shouted Party On!

 

[Tim]

We must be lucky. We have about 90 hens from 6 weeks to 9 years all living together. They can choose which of 5 houses they sleep in. Some nights nearly all of them move into one house. I think someone must have shouted Party On!

:lol: They know how to party!

My guess is you have a lot of space for them - the more space, the easier it is for a chook to run off and get forgotten about.

In the winter months I mix all of my pens - they can also go where they like and I currently have 5 cockerels who could potentially fight - but they don't as there's enough room for each to have their own territory. There's the occasional high speed chase up the field but nothing serious. I know if I had to keep them all in a smaller run there would be fights over territory. It's funny because they all go back to their respective houses at night!

In fact, my biggest problem is when I move them to a new house further down the field for fresh pasture, they keep trying to get back to the old house and I find them perched on top of fence posts for the first few nights as they try to get home for the night...

My chooks don't have many house parties :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Mine have all started coming in to roost for the night in my lounge,they like the sofa.....if I shut them out they do go to their house,or their spare house.