Chicken picking at feet

[gooner.girl]

I have 2 eglus - one for the chickens, one for the ducks. My chickens and ducks free-range together all day and both ducks and chickens normally choose to lay their eggs in the ducklu.

 

Bramley, one of my ex-batts is choosing to roost in the ducks eglu at night at the moment (which has no roosting bars - she had been perching on the nesting box and i have moved her into the chickens eglu previously when i have found her in there) She is bottom of the pecking order and some of the others are quite nasty to her - i suspect this is why she is choosing to roost elsewhere. The questions i have are:

 

1. are chickens ok/happy to roost on their own at night or should they have company?

 

2. I don't know what my ducks think about sharing as i can't read their minds! I very rarely actually see them in the eglu - they always seem to be in the run - even at night - but as they get the straw in there dirty enough they must go in there sometimes and i don't want them not to have an area to use if they need to - there would not be room for the 4 of them plus Bramley - if she was happy to snuggle up with them (which i doubt...)

 

Tonight i have left her in there (with a small spare set of roosting bars to perch on) The door is open to the ducks run and the ducks are in their run.

 

What do i do for the best?! Any ideas anyone?

[hillfamily]

I haven't got any ducks or experience of ducks so I can't answer specifically but maybe you could ponder these points.......

 

She has chosen to roost in the duck house..........so she must want to

 

The ducks aren't behaving any differently with her in their eglu at night so are probably OK with it

 

Perhaps she prefers the company of ducks, especially if she is being bullied by the other chooks

 

I would be inclined to leave the situation as it is, with her roosting with the ducks, for a few days and see what happens.

 

sorry I can't be anymore helpful

[CockADoodleDoo]

yess i agree! i am sure she will be fine with the ducks and if she is choosing to roost with them she must want to so i would as hillfamily said just leave her to her own devices

[Egluntyne]

If she is happy and the ducks are not bothered....why not leave her?

[gooner.girl]

Thanks for the advice guys. She seemed ok in there over night - will be interesting to see which eglu she chooses tonight having now tried out both!

[chelsea]

when we had the 2 eglus between 4 chickens initially both sets of chooks went in the right eglus. After celebrating their sucess they then decided they would have fun and games at bedtime and 3 used to go in one leaving Star the lone chook in the orange eglu, so every night we had to go out and move misty in with star which is why we got the cube!

 

I dont think Star would have minded being on her own, but as we shut our eglu doors we didnt like to think of her shut in all night on her own so thats why we moved the hens at night.

 

Although Helen, your situation sounds different, if she is choosing to go in their on her own and the others in the other eglu and especially if she is being bulled i would agree with the others and be inclined to leave her and see how it goes. Maybe she goes in there for some "time out"?

[gooner.girl]

She roosted on top of the chickens eglu run tonight. I put her through the pop hole in with the others. If i put the bumper bits Egluntine so kindly posted me onto the 2 worst feather pecking culprits maybe she will feel a bit more secure...?

[chelsea]

yes possibly, you should definitely try it

 

She obviously is deliberately avoiding going in with them isnt she? she isnt stupid!

[gooner.girl]

Yeah shes definitely avoiding it Chelse - the poor love - i feel really sorry for her.

 

What puzzles me though is that for an ex batt she is beautifully feathered - here she is

 

 

and yet she is way more bullied then Pip the other (very scrawny) ex batt. So in the cages was Bramley top chook? I can't imagine it - nor Pippin being bottom of the pecking order now - she acts like she owns the place, yet she was obviously picked on in the cage! It doesn't make sense!

 

Maybe Pip has just adapted more easily and confidently to outdoor life?

[The Pearsons]

Yeah shes definitely avoiding it Chelse - the poor love - i feel really sorry for her.

 

What puzzles me though is that for an ex batt she is beautifully feathered -

 

Oh she is a lovely ISA Brown hen.... quite dark - like my Molly.

 

I wonder if the other hens were so bored in their bat cages they pulled their own feathers out but Bramley is more placid by nature?

 

My friend has ducks and chickens that share a run - she just leaves them all to sort out their own sleeping arrangements (consenting adults and closed doors )

[Matthew]

 

What do i do for the best?! Any ideas anyone?

 

Start supporting Liverpool?

 

[gooner.girl]

Liverpool?! I'm not that desperate yet!

 

I do feel sorry for your chickens though... names like that!!! How embarrassing for them...

[gooner.girl]

Yeah shes definitely avoiding it Chelse - the poor love - i feel really sorry for her.

 

What puzzles me though is that for an ex batt she is beautifully feathered -

 

Oh she is a lovely ISA Brown hen.... quite dark - like my Molly.

 

I wonder if the other hens were so bored in their bat cages they pulled their own feathers out but Bramley is more placid by nature?

 

My friend has ducks and chickens that share a run - she just leaves them all to sort out their own sleeping arrangements (consenting adults and closed doors )

 

Ahhh thats reassuring re: your friend! I'll let her chose for now where she would like to sleep... (i did ask hubby but he refused to have her in bed with us... What a spoilsport eh?! )