VanillaGorilla
06-23-2009, 07:32 PM
Just before Easter, my wife and I brought home our first 2 chicks...a 3 week old (at that time) Australorp hen and a 1 day old barred rock hen. We kept them inside in a bunny cage until I finished building a hen house and pen for them to live in permanently. The following Monday we decided to get two more hens and we purchased 2 three week old chicks (a buff orpington and a silver laced wyandotte....I don't know if listing the breeds here would help, but I figured it can't hurt and may or may not be relevant).
Anyway, now the 2 younger chicks are about the same age as our barred rock was when we began letting her live in the coop so we have decided to try putting them both out there as well.
So we put them in the hen house late last night. For a few minutes, the babies (we call 'em our babies...lol) were chirpping quite a bit but eventually calmed down and the two older birds never made a peep.
This morning, I opened up the chick door/ramp to let them out. The older girls came out right away as usual and of course the 2 little ones were hesitant but eventually made it out into their new little yard. I stood outside of the pen to let them roam around freely but also to keep on eye on the situation until I was sure they were assimilating with the other chickens.
All was well until they made their way to the food and then the Australorp became pretty agressive with them. Pecking and throwing her feet at them. I made my way into the pen to stand between the two pair for a little while but decided to put the smaller chicks back into their bunny cage for the time being. I don't know if they are quite big enough to defend themselfs against the Australorp if she becomes more aggressive.
I apologize for the long winded story, but I wanted to paint as clear of a picture as possible and, Anyways, my question(s) is, what is the easiest way to bring my little flock together? Should I wait until the younger birds are a bit bigger? or is my Australorp just estabilishing some dominance and I should/shouldn't worry?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave
Anyway, now the 2 younger chicks are about the same age as our barred rock was when we began letting her live in the coop so we have decided to try putting them both out there as well.
So we put them in the hen house late last night. For a few minutes, the babies (we call 'em our babies...lol) were chirpping quite a bit but eventually calmed down and the two older birds never made a peep.
This morning, I opened up the chick door/ramp to let them out. The older girls came out right away as usual and of course the 2 little ones were hesitant but eventually made it out into their new little yard. I stood outside of the pen to let them roam around freely but also to keep on eye on the situation until I was sure they were assimilating with the other chickens.
All was well until they made their way to the food and then the Australorp became pretty agressive with them. Pecking and throwing her feet at them. I made my way into the pen to stand between the two pair for a little while but decided to put the smaller chicks back into their bunny cage for the time being. I don't know if they are quite big enough to defend themselfs against the Australorp if she becomes more aggressive.
I apologize for the long winded story, but I wanted to paint as clear of a picture as possible and, Anyways, my question(s) is, what is the easiest way to bring my little flock together? Should I wait until the younger birds are a bit bigger? or is my Australorp just estabilishing some dominance and I should/shouldn't worry?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave