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the chickens have arrived

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well, not so much arrived as we had to go get them :D

 

got a Black Rock, Light Sussex and a Bluebell

 

have to say, the Bluebell is way bigger than the others and using her size to bully them. So much so the other 2 won't come out the Eglu and Bluebell is standing guard :?

 

Beginning to think we should have gotten a Warren instead, at least they would be roughly the same size. The lady, who was very nice but wasn't keen on the Eglu idea because they're plastic, put the 2 smaller birds in the box first so it was hard to tell the Bluebell was so much bigger.

 

we may trade with a friend who has bigger hens :think:

 

for anyone in South Wales here are their details/prices...

 

Penrhiwgarn Poultry Supplies

Llangynidr

near Crickhowell

NP8 1LL

 

Tel 01874 730883

 

look for the signs either side of the entrance to the lane that leads up to the farm

 

Warran £8

Black Rock £9

Bluebells £12

Light Sussex £13

Road Island Red £13

Welsummer £18

Maran £15

 

if anyone has any advice as to how to get some equilibrium it would be much appreciated

 

thanks

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Just give it time.

 

They have to sort out the pecking order for themselves, and it sometimes is not easy to watch.

 

Encourage them to eat together by sprinkling treats, but supervise s that the bully can't hog everything.

 

Trading for another hen will only make the problem different, not go away.

 

Make sure that the smaller hens are not being prevented from eating and drinking by her. Separate her for short periods is necessary so that they don't starve.

 

Good luck.

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we had fun at the beginning when the 4 white chooks wouldnt let the 2 brown ones out of the cube.

 

this got squared up good and proper when it was time for bed and the rolls reversed.

 

the 2 brown girls sat at the door way and pecked legs as the white ones tried to come in.

 

they made their point :D

 

it calmed down soon after :lol:

 

dont worry, they will sort themselves out

 

cathy

x

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I reckon sometimes the power goes to their head a bit when they find themselves in a tiny flock of three instead of being just one chicken out of a couple of dozen! I'm sure she'll settle down once she realises that it means there's less competition for food and roosting space :)

 

As the others have suggested, make sure there are multiple feeding points so everyone gets a look-in, and maybe separate her for a few hours during the day so they can get used to one another without it getting physical.

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Good luck, it is so hard to watch. Try to seperate them so they can get some food. It should settle eventually but it may take a few weeks if you have a bully.

We had a problem with a new Black rock hen who was larger than the others and it took 2 to 3 weeks for her to stop chasing the others off. For the first week we had her in the coop but seperated before letting her out.

Even though she was new she then terrorised our other hens then things settled down.

It was really upsetting to watch.

She was fine for a while, then turned into a bum pecker and eventually we found her a new home locally in a larger flock with a cockeral. She now behaves beautifully :wink:

I was really sad to see her go as she is a beautifull hen, hwever she is happy now, and the others are better for it.

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I know this is only day 2 but here's an update...

 

the Bluebell is still throwing her weight about, it's really agressive towards the Sussex, so much so the Sussex spends it's time in the Eglu

it's less agressive towards the Blackrock, just chases her around the run every now and again

 

so, I've tried locking the Bluebell up to give the others a break and it works a treat, Sussex and Blackrock get on like a house on fire and they're sooo relaxed

 

as soon as I let the Bluebell back out, after a couple of hours, she attacks the Sussex which immediately heads for the Eglu

 

the Blackrock has already learned to hop on a perch to keep out of her way

 

we had kids in today and the sight of the Bluebell attacking the others really upset them, hopefully things will settle down soon :?

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I have the same mix of three - got them 2 weeks ago - although also it is the blubelle that is the biggest of mine it is the blackrock that tries to take charge.

 

It took about a week before the blackrock stopped pecking the bluebelle, but just run at each other a bit now.

 

Everything I have read says unless they are not feeding or drinking do not get involved and let them sort it out - is shutting the bluebelle up just like keep reintroducing her every day?

 

Not an expert, but I wouldn't put this down to the breed my bluebelle is the friendliest of all three - ate from my hand from the first day and still the happiest to be handled.

 

Stick with it and let them sort it I would say.

 

Lovely chickens!

 

Tracy

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I tried several ways of diffusing the situation.

1 Make sure there is food at both ends of the eglu run (you can put some in at the eglu end by sticking your arm through the egg port)

2 Try dividing the eglu run -- as soon as the bluebelle rushes towards the food in the morning, poke some bamboo canes through the run to partition it off. Then she can't get back to them.

3 They will probably be OK once it is dark so can sleep together, but gradually increase the amount of time they are together during the day.

4 Things will get easier once they can free range. The bluebelle wants them to submit to her, but if they cannot get out of her way, it doesn't look like submission.

 

Hope some of this helps and things settle down soon!

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Lots of great tips! I would just add that as long as there's no actual injury being inflicted, there's no need to worry. My new girl, Pepper, pulled the back feathers of my two-year-old bantam Angelica a lot during the first few days, but two weeks later they are best of friends, and Pepper copies everything that Angelica does, so I'm not even sure who's top chicken :)

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if I don't shut her in for a while the others wouldn't get to eat, especially the Sussex :?

 

The advice is to put out three feeding and drinking stations, as far apart as possible ....as the "bully" can't man three at once, that way others won't starve, and she will get used to the sight of them eating.

 

I seem to think that much of the pecking order stuff is food related.

 

It generally takes three weeks for peace to break out, with the skirmishes getting fewer and fewer.

 

Try not to worry, I'm sure it will settle.

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