I have no lighting for my birds other than moon light. They lose their night light in the cold season at about 8 weeks and they lose their night lights in the summer at about 6 weeks old.

They go though cold turkey changes and do just fine. I just have to plop them where I want them to go and that is that. I find the more I try to transition them, the longer and more stressful the process is for them to grow up and be like the big birds. They come to expect being tucked in and will just keep waiting for you later and later rather than giving up and realizing you're not going back out to them after sunset.

Edit: Come to think of it, I had a bunch of 3, 4 and 6 week old silkies that slept together and they got "kicked out" this summer when the oldest was 7 weeks old or so and they all just slept on the floor just fine since those pesky silkies don't like to roost.

Last edited by silkiechicken (08/14/2007 9:03 am)

Typing this without glasses so if there are any seriously obvious mistakes... I cant see them.

I went out first thing but only had a sec to look.
The pullets were outside and I looked in and found the chicks in their house.
I only had a second at that point so i went back in, but the chicks must have seen me and came out looking for me to rescue them.

For the next half hour I could hear feathers flying while I was inside feeding the baby.

As soon as my son got up I went back out to see the pullets endelessly chaseing the chicks. I grabed some cracked corn and through it in the middle of the run.

Everything quieted down for a while, but now one of the Australorps is back to playing the "Make the Chicks Screem" Game.

There must be an easier way to do this.

Last edited by barg (08/21/2007 7:47 pm)

:hug

It will be ok.

Ok , I'm ready for them to make friends now.
There have been a few quit times , just like yesterday, but the Pullets are relentless in their onslaught.; They peck at their legs and head, chase them around, and jump on top of them.

When it seems like their getting really nasty to them, I go out and toss something in the run to distract them.

So far there are no signs of anything getting any better.

What the Hek is that in her beak?

The Attack


The war wounds are starting to mount.

You can't actually see Winnies wound that well, its bigger then it looks, they also have scrapes on their legs. :(

Last edited by barg (08/14/2007 4:08 pm)

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I’d hate to have to start over on this but at the same time, I would think there should be a light at the end of the tunnel by now rather then the increasing violence I see in the run.

I have mostly stayed out of the back yard today because it seems to cause problems if I go out there.
I have watched from the kitchen window, it’s not easy to watch.
I’m also worried that even if the chicks don’t sustain an injury that is life threatening, the stress alone may kill them.

At this point it’s just degraded to a constant beating from the older pullets.

Last edited by barg (08/14/2007 5:27 pm)

They all generally get along, and I think that's because they have the whole yard to free range in all day. When need be, they can get as far away from each other as they wish. Maybe yours are having a war of space? Good luck to you.