Segregation was the word of the day(Mutually imposed)
This is where they spent the vast majority of the day.

While the big girls rested in a corner of the tractor...

The Chicks enjoyed a dust bath in the main part of the coop.

The Real test is happening now in the Coop house as the chicks spend the night with the pullets.

This new configuration has been pretty successful, in large part because it gives them all the feeling that they are not occupying the same coop even though they are.
The chicks went out in the tractor this morning and were separated from the pullets by a thin board between the main coop and the tractor.
In the Afternoon I took the chicks out of the tractor and put them in the main coop with the pullets; I went in with them to make sure everyone was behaved and in the position that I wanted them; with the chicks at the far side of the coop away from the tractor.
I wanted the pullets to go into the tractor with the chicks behind them to make it less like an invasion of the chick’s space.
Once they were where I wanted them, I removed the divider and let them go where they wanted.

It was a pretty Non aggressive day, with a few minor incidences.
The pullets and chicks are by no means “best of friends” at this point but they are tolerating each other, at least for the moment.

The chicks were far more able to go about their chicken business today and felt much more at ease in their surroundings; they even recovered from any altercations that did arise, much more quickly.

When night came, and shortly after the pullets had gone in, the chicks followed up the ladder but stayed at the door until I physically put them inside.

Hazel was the aggressor inside the coop, at first I firmly told her to go back to her own spot, which she did, but she kept sneaking over to peck the kids; Eventually I opened the upper egg door and gave her a tap on the head and she grudgingly went back to her spot and settled in.

The night isn’t over; there may be more conflict in the coop before dawn.
Tomorrow colleen will open the coop and let the big girls out, then close off the door to keep the chicks in the house until I am able to supervise them.

Last edited by barg (08/30/2007 12:58 am)

Despite their "Good day" there were a couple of attempts at a "war charge" initiated by the Dominique’s; these were stopped by super soaker as they happened.

There were a couple times when it seemed as though one of the Australorps had gone over, in a friendly way, toward the chicks but was greeted with fear as the chicks flapped and tried to get away.

I would love to have all six of the chickens exit the coop house at the same time tomorrow. I’m still not sure I can trust the older ones, and I don’t want to lose any ground I’ve gained in making the chicks feel at ease in the coop with them.

It’s a hard call.

Last edited by barg (08/30/2007 12:59 am)

I was looking at the breed info on some hatchery pages looking for info on exactly how close in size my Chickens should end up.
Different hatcheries list them as different weights, but all agree that Winnie should be the largest bird I have; the size variation was about .3 to 1 pound between her and the Australorps.
I also found the bit of information about Wyandottes, on the ideal website, that I didn’t know at all:
“The chicks do not grow as fast as some of the other dual-purpose breeds”Figures!

Last edited by barg (08/30/2007 10:26 pm)

I just went out to make sure everything was ok and found something I totally didn’t expect!

When the chicks went into the coop tonight and once they got up on the roost, I guided them as to where to sit.... Winnie wants to sit on top of the nest box.
Anyway, I had them sit on the part of the roost farthest from the Pullets; the pullets always sit in the same corner, every night!

When I went out there just now I found the pullets totally out of place, they were strung out from where they normally sit to where the chicks are roosting.
One of the Australorps was sitting right next to Esther on a cross beam.

They all seem settled in and everyone looks like they are alive so...
I don't know what to think.

More tomarrow!

Last edited by barg (08/30/2007 10:27 pm)

Just FYI--I kinda have the opposite situation---my wyandottes chase my BRs murderously. The BRs sleep upstairs.

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Hoping.....

Jill

Hard to believe that Winnie will be bigger then Nezzie

Photo has been altered to eliminate the bars.

Last edited by barg (08/30/2007 11:38 pm)