Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

:chicken-egg:
Are there times when you feel that you could just smack them? The chickens I have now love to perch up high, so I built their perches high for them, I also gave them much more space than needed, and yet each night there is fighting for the best spot, even worse is the one or two that likes to hop around from perch to perch knocking off the less dominant hens. EXCEPT for when I leave the pen doors open, everyone packs onto the doors with no problem. Plywood about 1/8 inch with wire on it as well instead of the nice perches. SMACK!

And then there is the young roosters who want to do nothing but dig out the nests, throwing out the nice grass I had cut and dried specifically for nesting material and also smashing the eggs. So I closed off a large pen for them because I thought the older rooster was not letting them eat and drink properly. For the last two weeks they just sat up on their perches all day. I butchered one yesterday and let the rest run around all the pens again today. Within minutes the young roosters were back in the nests, they will spend all day in them. SMACK!

LOL they can be like children. My new flock of simple red layers from Frey's are great with humans but um, the ducks? OMG I have seriously watched them all group together and attack a single duck WHO IS DOING NOTHING, i have real issues with that, don't want a scovie losing an eye or worse.

My old chickens raised around the ducks of coarse were never an issue unless a duck got to forward. These were RTL so mature ish when arrived. Again, they lay awesome and are super with people but the worst bullies i have ever seen... geez.

Two weeks ago when one hen wanted to hatch, of course there were squabbles as I only have two nests for 12 hens so some were always trying to kick her off. When I gave the mother her own pen and nest, the next day all the hens laid in one nest leaving the other one empty!!!

going quackers wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:56 pm

LOL they can be like children. My new flock of simple red layers from Frey's are great with humans but um, the ducks? OMG I have seriously watched them all group together and attack a single duck WHO IS DOING NOTHING, i have real issues with that, don't want a scovie losing an eye or worse.

My old chickens raised around the ducks of coarse were never an issue unless a duck got to forward. These were RTL so mature ish when arrived. Again, they lay awesome and are super with people but the worst bullies i have ever seen... geez.

Quackers, you never know how things will go with ready to lay. Years ago I had 4 red sex-links that were 18 months old, I bought 4 black sex-links that were five months old, the next morning I went out fearing the older hens were beating the younger ones. It was a disaster but in reverse. The blacks were mean and nasty and the reds were so terrified they wouldn't come down to eat or drink, they stopped laying, the blacks just got meaner each day and I had to finally just sell them to protect the poor red girls.

Skinny rooster wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:31 pm

going quackers wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:56 pm

LOL they can be like children. My new flock of simple red layers from Frey's are great with humans but um, the ducks? OMG I have seriously watched them all group together and attack a single duck WHO IS DOING NOTHING, i have real issues with that, don't want a scovie losing an eye or worse.

My old chickens raised around the ducks of coarse were never an issue unless a duck got to forward. These were RTL so mature ish when arrived. Again, they lay awesome and are super with people but the worst bullies i have ever seen... geez.

Quackers, you never know how things will go with ready to lay. Years ago I had 4 red sex-links that were 18 months old, I bought 4 black sex-links that were five months old, the next morning I went out fearing the older hens were beating the younger ones. It was a disaster but in reverse. The blacks were mean and nasty and the reds were so terrified they wouldn't come down to eat or drink, they stopped laying, the blacks just got meaner each day and I had to finally just sell them to protect the poor red girls.

wow, that is terrible! This is our first go 'round with RTL we have always bought chicks and/or hatched our own.. the silkies still managed to sneak a few puffies out now and then.

I had to stop free ranging them the other week the fox came back and got one... so now we have another less lol.

yep, with multi species -chicken, ducks, geese, guineas, - they have to grow up together or they'll be real nasty together. even chickens of different colours will gang up on each other.

Ok so do you think it will work out for my peeps? My original 3 rsls are now 3 years old no, four! I am adding g 3 ducks and six chickens who are brooding together. The old girls will be outnumbered, I will put the ducks out in their own penfirst and see how that goes. Abit worried

Have the old girls in their own territory when first introduced so even though outnumbered they will feel in control. You will probably still have squables the first little while.