The babies were in a little pen that we'd have to move around the yard every few days. It was becoming a hassle to move it and to feed them every day because this batch is wild and every time I would lift up the pen to get the feeder out, some would get out and then the chase was on!
Well, they are so wild that my kind and patient husband had to catch them with a net one by one and take them all the way to the other side of our plot behind our shed and let them out one at a time. We started with Big Mama (or at least we are assuming Big Mama, may be Big Daddy hehe). She is so big compared to the other chicks and the same age, so she may be a he. The big hens of course went after her and pulled out a few feathers, but our coop is big enough that she got away and with each chick he put in, the torture got less and less, but the big hens still were not happy. Oh but how the big hens hollered and clucked loudly for hours, they were not happy about their new roommates and they were letting us know about it!
Thankfully, the babies have been in there 6 days and they are all still alive. I put out a few dishes of feed, but of course the big girls go from dish to dish, so the little hens are running nonstop going from dish to dish avoiding the leaders of the coop. It is funny to watch. As long as there is no blood shed, I'm okay with it. The good thing about putting the little gals in the big coop is now they aren't so flighty, they know when I am in there, that means food time. They still aren't as brave as the older ones who run right up to me as if to say "Whatcha got? Whatcha got?" but they do come running and stay a safe distance. Here are some pics I took this morning of all my chicken babies.
My two mean gals:
The babies:
Big Mama, You can see how big she is compared to one of the others:
Aww, they are all really cute! It does take a while for them to figure out the pecking order, sometimes up to 2 weeks. They will still peck at each other here and there after that as well. The older ones have to keep the new girls in line haha :)
ReplyDeleteYay for getting the coop finished! I hope your chickens get their problems worked out. I will have to put our chicks in with the big girls soon. :(
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
:)Vicki