I've been to pick up another two ex-battery chickens tonight. I had room and I think it's a "good thing" to do.
As suggested by the lady I collected them from, I waited until the others had gone to bed and then put the new girls into the coop. Oh were there ever ructions! They all came out of the coop again before I could get the door closed and now they're all refusing to go back in until the pecking order is sorted out.
Nora, who is boss lady of the present flock, made it quite abundantly clear to the new girls that she is in charge. She was strutting her stuff and pecking at them if they dared overstep the mark. Both the new girls seem to be quite accepting of this although there's still a lot of noise going on and a little bit of feather pulling. This is all to be expected and I've been told to leave them to get on with it unless we get any serious injuries.
The new girls aren't in quite such a poor state as my original girls were when they arrived as there is more likely to be bullying if the newbies are in a poor condition. So hopefully they can all settle down together once they sort themselves out and I won't have to separate them.
As suggested by the lady I collected them from, I waited until the others had gone to bed and then put the new girls into the coop. Oh were there ever ructions! They all came out of the coop again before I could get the door closed and now they're all refusing to go back in until the pecking order is sorted out.
Nora, who is boss lady of the present flock, made it quite abundantly clear to the new girls that she is in charge. She was strutting her stuff and pecking at them if they dared overstep the mark. Both the new girls seem to be quite accepting of this although there's still a lot of noise going on and a little bit of feather pulling. This is all to be expected and I've been told to leave them to get on with it unless we get any serious injuries.
The new girls aren't in quite such a poor state as my original girls were when they arrived as there is more likely to be bullying if the newbies are in a poor condition. So hopefully they can all settle down together once they sort themselves out and I won't have to separate them.
How do the lurchers get on with the chickens? 1 of the pups got pecked at this day by a Banty that was bigger than he was. The adult Lurchers with me are quite good, although Mindy will steal any dead birds unless I dispose of them immediately (she also steals eggs & has taught the pups that). My Beddy is the bad one with the birds & she only ever kills the hens! The Spaniels will take a pheasant, but leave all my poultry alone which is very good of them as they were bred as bird dogs for the guns.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid the whippets would only have one thing in mind - dinner!
ReplyDeleteLovely that you can take them in. I hope that peace soon reigns!
The Lurchers can't be trusted with the chickens at all! Lurcher No.1 is by far the worst and, although she eventually pretty much ignores them, her blood did get up with the new arrivals last night! The chickens are safely ensconced in their run though so they're quite safe.
ReplyDeleteI must be lucky with my Lurchers, then. Tig, my beautiful black brindle, who was stolen, along with his girly & 3 pups, brought my eldest's cockerel from hell in for Sunday dinner unharmed. After Marzi & Sine Nomine disappeared (dog or 2 legged-fox? I never did find out), he was brilliant with the chickens. Tashka, his girly wasn't, but she wasn't even with me a year before she went. The 3 I have now are good with the poultry (Arawn will only go for them if Pireni, the Beddy, encourages him), but Mindy does steal eggs. The pups are still smaller than most of my chickens, but aren't afraid of Lucy Goosey, which is worrying. As I said, the Spaniels are marvellous & know the difference between pheasants (allowed) & domestic poultry (definitely NOT allowed. Pireni was trying to teach the baby Wolfhound bad habits, but she seems to be learning & prefers the company of the Lurcher pups & kittens. It's harder to persuade them that outside cats AREN'T shoshi (rabbits)! but if the cats come into the house, they're left alone...
ReplyDeleteAll my poultry are totally free-range (illegally so in Ireland as I have the chickens & the ducks & goose together) but I want to fence them off & put the ducks & Lucy in with the goat (should be goatS but Persephone keeps escaping her field, leaving a mourning Pan behind). I have an area put aside for my feather-legs, but with my elder daughter getting married I'm not moving them over until I'm back from the Summer travels.